Jui Music

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Miami Horror @ Corner Hotel Melbourne

Corner Hotel was not the first place that sprung to mind when someone mentioned an energetic venue with a crowd to match. On the contrary, it seems that, most of the time, the crowd has an inability to enjoy themselves in this place. Meanwhile, I myself have been driven out of earth by amazing acts like fuzzy hyped noise rock band Magic Dirt, dynamic dreamy shoe-gazing electro Brooklyn band School of Seven Bells and sharp-edged alternative electro UK band Ladytron.

Tonight, however, was a different story. Spectators were mounted on each other’s shoulders, and surfing across the crowd from one end to the other. Miami Horror, along with supporters The Dirty Secrets, have enjoyed a successful prologue to waves of upcoming summer festivals in a hot and sweaty fashion.

Stepping inside the Corner Hotel early, I stood next to the main stage, with two mid-sized screens hanging on either side and facing the front – all the while looping through an ambient motion graphic. Feeling hypnotized after twenty seconds of gazing at the screen, I tuned my sight to the disco ball hovering overhead, reflecting sparkling light across from both screens and scattering it over the floor in a beautifully disco-like manner. Meanwhile, continuous streams of crowds kept coming in, packing the room tightly and raising the temperature.

Embarassingly enough, I have never heard of the supporting band, The Dirty Secrets, but their 40-minute set simply blew my head off. On the performing side, the whole band was physically and emotionally engaged with the audience. Front man Jarrah Mcleary certainly is an amazing dancer and performer. With one hand grabbing the microphone and the other dabbing over the keyboard, he threw the microphone around his neck and shoulder on more than one occasion, proceeding to percuss on the keyboard. Swaying across the stage from one end to the other, hopping onto the drum platform with one arm risen, he was dancing his way all the over the stage. All the other band members seemed to subscribe to his wildness too, rocking out loud and strumming vigorously, pushing their performance to another level.

In terms of sound, the band had nice array of catchy, layered tracks jammed with synthesizers, distorted guitar sounds and danceable drum beats to set the party off. The Dirty Secrets unquestionably set everyone’s heart and the room on fire as they finished the set with My Heart Is on Fire.

As soon as The Dirty Secrets left the stage, the DJ stepped in with a set filled with funky tracks and managed to work the crowd and keep them dancing. By now, the room was literally boiling. Everyone knew what to expect next, sweeping towards the front of the stage. I was sandwiched and pushed and could not withstand the body heat all around me, so decided to struggle my way to the back, with my former spot being filled up in no time.

Miami Horror continued the party the instant he took to the stage, and spiced it up even more. The crowd got into the 80s groove well, jumping up and down energetically, with crowd surfers popping up one by one. The madness went even higher, and the crowd enthusiastically sang along when the band launched into hit songs Make You Mine and Sometimes.

Unfortunately, the public transport timetable got in my way of witnessing the encore; I called out “one more” along with the rest of the concert-goers but hadn’t the pleasure to enjoy what I begged for. However, Miami Horror put up one amazing show and reassured everyone that summer party time isn’t far away.

Ray Tsai

published on In The Mix.com.au online

Tsuyoshi Suzuki @ ROOM 680 Melbourne

Before penning this review, I covered myself with excessive amounts of research on trance music and Tsuyoshi Suzuki. I was confronted by just how extensive music genres can be, and struck by how much chuck of amazing artists I have been missing out on. Most of all, I found fascinating the collaborations and connections in the trance music circuit across the globe, which was a realm I was previously unfamiliar with.

After his April shows in Australia April were cancelled, finally the man is back; Tsuyoshi Suzuki, a world well-known electro/psychedelic trance musician from Japan. Suzuki fell in love with trance music back in the day, when he was cruising and partying between Tokyo, Goa and Koh Phangan. In 1994, after moving to London, he founded a record label named Matsuri Production with John Perloff, which became home to many electro and trance musicians.

Leading up to his earnest involvements and contributions to trance music, his importance was affirmed when Issey Miyake, one of the world’s most influential fashion designers, took him onboard for his 1997 catwalk in Paris. From there, Suzuki continued working on his solid productions, and has now become one of the central figures in psychedelic trance music.

Tsuyoshi Suzuki seems to have a profound love for Australian audiences, having made many returns to the land down under, excitingly including tonight! Tsuyoshi, in cooperation with local talented trance musicians, are about to blow everyone away.

It was my virgin visit to Room680, where a long list of well-respected, both national and international electronic artists have played before. Passing through the dark hallway before going up onto the open-air lounge, the structure seemed to me like a surreal sort of maze. Straight up at the front is the main room, furnished with oversized photo frame couches and surrounded by the dance floor. Disco balls of different sizes hover from the ceiling, all circling around a most-impressive illuminated sphere, wrapped around the centre by an umbrella.

I passed through the entrance just before midnight, and there were only a few others scattered throughout the club. A gentle yet infectious set by DJ Benza and Andrew Till started the night well, but I did not expect the enormous storm that was about to go off soon.

Tsuyoshi Suzuki calmly walked around the room before his set, looking nice and relaxed. Seconds later, however, he was mixing and dynamiting the room up. The crowd erupted as he took over the decks, finishing up Andrew Till’s previous track very nicely. Making a gesture to the crowd as he threw his tracks straight in, Suzuki simply forced me to dance over the next two hours; I couldn’t fight it, and neither could anyone else.

Prominent bass beats pounded up between 130-150 BPM throughout the entire set, and there wasn’t one second of boredom. Suzuki had stated in an interview prior to tonight’s show: “I spend so much time and effort to select my tracks”, and it certainly showed. As a DJ who has played some of the biggest festivals worldwide, including Berlin Love, Earthcore, and Fuji Rock Festival, Tsuyoshi Suzuki easily dominated the room. As he finished off the last track, the crowds surged toward him, firmly grabbing his hands in a massive gesture of thanks for the great music.

It was 4 AM when Tsuyoshi handed the stage over to DJ Ozzy. Only an occasional clubber, staying awake until this hour after two hours of full-on dancing were enough to wear me down. I was half asleep and had my eyes closed even as DJ Ozzy dropped down some truly amazing tracks onstage; I finally realised it was time to call it a night after someone came up to ask me if I had taken too many drugs.

In any case, Tsuyoshi Suzuki once again proved his ability to rock the crowd, reaffirming his dominant position in psychedelic trance. Thanks for the memorable night, and we will be waiting for your return, Tsuyoshi!

Ray Tsai

published on In The Mix.com.au online

Spring Tones - Roxanne Parlour

On 26th September at Roxanne Parlour, inner Melbourne City, on a chillingly cold and rainy Saturday night, noises of fuzzy guitar, pulses of drum beats and distorted electro keyboards sounded loudly in an alleyway off China Town. Presented by 3RRR, Mess + Noise, and Mistletone Records, Spring Tones featured an absolutely awesome line-up of tremendous musical talents gathered in one place, on one night for a full-on, three stage, five hour continuous sonic festival.

The line-up included piles of local acts such as Alex & The Ramps, St Helens, The UV Race, Rat vs. Possum and more, as well as international acts straight from USA – garage indie rock band Vivian Girls, indie folk with distinctive vocal artist Tiny Vipers, Ducktails, original mixed-genre electronic artist Hawnay Troof, then New Zealand tech-pop songwriter Bachelorette.

For the early arrivers, Woolen Kits loudly set off the mood, with gloomy smoke and ambient spot lights filling the front stage room. With the back room almost empty, and Ali and Kickball from Vivian Girls lying around on the couches, the night was setting in relaxed and smooth. Rat vs. Possum opened the first set on the back stage with blistering percussions. Following on with the second set, Songs lit up the vibe with good dynamics and great pop rhythmic tunes, as the venue slowly filled up with more and more anticipatory crowds.

At around 9pm at the back stage, walking up on stage quietly in a grey knit jumper, Tiny Vipers pulled out her guitar cautiously. “Hi I am Tiny Vipers from Seattle,” she whispered. Her haunting voice floated gracefully within delicate guitar sounds in slight sadness, and I was taken away. Meanwhile, I would assume Alex & the Ramps were launching into some sick dance moves, but I did not have the pleasure to see them unfortunately because of the timing conflicts.

Highly anticipated Brooklyn indie rock band Vivian Girls started off their set with fairly inviting words as bassist Kickball gave thanks to the previous sets. Their set combined songs from their previous self-titled record in 2008 and Everything goes wrong, just released in September this year. Heavy reverb, dreamy vocals, and layers of distorted fuzzy guitar noise weaved in and out through the whole set, with instrumental interludes that visibly shook the room. Surprisingly, aside from a few dancers who went down a treat with the band, the crowds reacted with little movement. “You guys should be dancing around, it’s Saturday night” bassist Kickball said with a cheerful smile in the middle of the show.

Punk band UV Race set was utterly one of the highlights of the night. Crowds went wild and dynamited the first mosh pit of the night. Harmonica player Georgia dove down into the crowd and was carried around by the wild crowds as the punk drum beats rapidly struck.

I was disappointed to have to leave early and miss The Dacios, rock n’ roll band from Tasmania with explosive vocalist Linda J; however, Sprint Tones was still a splendidly inspiring night to remember.

Ray Tsai