The Stiffys- Art Rock Two Tour

Last night The Stiffys concluded their tour in support of their latest EP Art Rock Two at The Workers Club. Opening the gig were three piece band Rad Island who had a bit of a pop punk vibe. Next up was the duo Sex Pills who sang short songs about everyday issues with their lead singer using a broad Aussie ocker accent. They even did a cover of Nancy Sinatra's "These Boots Are Made For Walkin'."

The Stiffys are still in their art rock phase and came out wearing their astronaut suits (with Dev in a black "We Are Your Boys, Please RT" t-shirt and Stiffys sailor hat). They kicked off the evening with my favorite track off the new EP "Celebrate Every Night." As this show was billed as being in 3D the audience could grab free 3D glasses when they entered the bandroom, which enhanced the experience of viewing the moving geometric projections in the background. Things became even more 3D when the band started throwing out Vicks VapoNaturals they had found into the crowd.

It was a high energy show with a set list that contained songs from all of their releases. Highlights for me included the newer art rock tracks such as "Do What You Want," "The Pokémon Go Song," "King Of The Internet," "Kissy Kissy" and "Space Blog" alongside Stiffys classics like "Champagne," "Call And Response Song" and "Ranger Stacey." Crowd surfing happened at the end of the main set with Dev being kept up while they played a song in honor of The Beards "Touch Me In My Pants (On My Doodle)," and of course the boogie board was brought out for "Boogie Boarding" (this time rode by the lead singer of Rad Island). For the encore they finished on a high with "I'm Really Good At Sex Because I'm Always Doing It" and "I Like Drinks When I Drink Them." It's always great to see the boys do such a great job and maintain their positive attitude to life.

Here's the video for their semi-viral hit "The Pokémon Go Song"

The Stiffys- Art Rock One Tour

Your boys The Stiffys launched their new EP Art Rock One tonight at The Tote. As Mary and I were walking down the street toward the venue we could hear the first band of the night Tankerville playing. They were LOUD and we caught the last couple songs of their set. Next up was two piece hard rock band Dr. Colossus, who play songs themed around The Simpsons. It was excellent and I particularly liked "Stupid Sexy Flanders."

The Stiffys emerged onto the stage in their space suits and with guitarist Dev in tow. They launched the set with their latest single "King Of The Internet." The boys were in good spirits and high fived each other after each song. They didn't have any Passion Pop but instead were drinking from bottles of white wine. We got to hear all the songs off of Art Rock One, with "Kick Another Flip," "Kissy Kissy" and "Space Blog" being my favorites.

The boys also played some older tracks, including "Champagne," "Ranger Stacey," "Call And Response Song" and "Erection! Everybody!" Mary and I were singing along, and there is no other gig where you would get away with shouting out erection or stiffys repeatedly. For "Boogie Boarding" there were two people who rode the boogie board across the crowd, and then Jason finished the song playing while standing on the board as the crowd held him up. It was a very art rock moment. We were encouraged to call out for an encore, and they obliged by playing "I'm Really Good At Sex Because I'm Always Doing It" to finish off the set. It was another GREAT JOB by The Stiffys.

Here's the video for "King Of The Internet"

The Stiffys- Kick Another Flip Tour

Melbourne's most positive and fashionable groovy boys, The Stiffys, played at The Workers Club last night to launch their new single "Kick Another Flip" off their upcoming EP Art Rock.  Belinda and I arrived after opening band Darts had started playing.  The five piece punk/grunge band included a cover of R.E.M.'s "Orange Crush" in their set.  Next up was four piece surf/rockabilly band La Bastard.  They sounded great and played a very entertaining set as the guitar and bass players kept coming onto the floor during songs throughout their set.

The Stiffys have moved on from their sailor suits and came out dressed in space suits with helmets.  They started their set with "Call and Response Song" and played the majority of songs off their two EPs The Stiffys and We Are Groovy Boys.  Highlights included "Champagne," "Gimme All Your Cocoa Pops," "Erection! Everybody!" and "I'm Really Good At Sex Because I'm Always Doing It."  A few songs in some punk guy climbed up the side of the wall to the ceiling and swung across the floor using the support beam as if it was monkey bars.  We got a bit of a preview of Art Rock with a snippet of the song "Space Blog" and the new single "Kick Another Flip."  Of course the climatic moment of the night was when they played "Boogie Boarding" and got an audience member to surf the crowd on a boogie board.  It was another fun show and all I can really say to sum it up is GREAT JOB STIFFYS!

Here's the video for "Boogie Boarding" (and a chance to see the old sailor suits):

The Good China Farewell Show

It was very sad when The Good China announced they were calling it a day after six years together, so Mary and I were determined to make their farewell show last night at the Northcote Social Club.  The first band for the evening was Rich Davies and The Little Devils, who played a set of alt-country songs along with a cover of Chris Isaak's "Wicked Game."  Next up was art rock two piece The Stiffys, who may be my new favorite live act.  A hilarious band with positive messages, both members were dressed in matching sailor suits.  They played songs about champagne, being groovy boys and (not surprisingly) sex.  The highlight of their set was when they got an audience member to ride a board on top of the crowd for "Boogie Boarding."

The Good China came out and launched into their newly released song "What You Learnt From The Self Help Section" (which contains the mantra "You won't die alone / You will find new love").  The crowd was really into every song from the start and sang and danced along to old favorites like "You Looked Better A Brunette," "If Pain Persists," "We Found 3 Whistles," and "No More Maps, No More Roads."  There were even a couple new songs in the set, including the other new release from this week "Your Ancestors Were Dinosaurs."  The group paid tribute to the band that inspired them to form with a cover of Arcade Fire's "Wake Up."  It was also nice to hear older and rarer songs like "A Million Little Pieces" that haven't been played live in a while.  I thought the band members did remarkably well to hold it together on stage, and many of them took turns telling little stories between songs throughout the evening. 

For the encore they started with a cover of Jen Lekman's "Maple Leaves" and then we were all ready to hand clap during "All Nothing."  Cara gave her farewell speech and thank yous before the last song of the night, which was the very appropriately titled "We Knew That We Had To Leave."  The band had a group hug before taking their final bows and leaving the stage.  It's so depressing when one of your favorite bands calls it quits, but at least we were able to attend this final show.  All the best to each of the members of The Good China- you will be missed!