Kidofdoom, Popskarr, Bateleur & Us kids know at the Assembly

Sat 2 April 2011

I commented a while ago that there’s a bit of a lack of post-punk-type bands in SA, interestingly though there seems to be an increase in post-rock-type bands which I think is pretty exciting. Kidofdoom have a good reputation; I saw them only once previously some years ago and quite enjoyed their self-titled album, so decided to check them out again. I was also really keen to see Bateleur who were also on the four band roster.

I was familiar with tracks from all the bands apart from Us Kids Know, but their name’s taken from one of my favourite Arcade Fire tracks so I figured they couldn’t be too bad. And they weren’t too bad – an introverted (somewhat noodly) guitarist, a bassist that plink-plonked on the xylophone every now and then and an enthusiastic drummer with a whistle (on one track) and a heart shaved into his chest hair…Their set was short but the songs were long…I don’t really remember anything standing out, apart from the fact that one song was called ‘Parachute Pants‘…and I remember being pretty surprised by the small but manic crowd of fans dancing (with way too much energy for the music) and screaming after ever song.

Up next were Bateleur, who stole the show and turned out to be the highlight of the night for me. At six people (plus a violinist who came on and went off in intervals) they looked a little crowded up on the stage; amusingly they also kinda physically resembled the music they make, if that makes sense…I’d downloaded the three tracks they have up online and thought they were pretty cool, but the band sounded even better live. Their many instruments and wordless vocals/harmonies are great and the elements of darkness and experimentation really make their music interesting; the first track on which the violinist played was just beautiful.

What I like about them is that they remind me of bands like Sigur Rós and Efterklang without sounding like they’re trying to imitate them. I’m keen to see them again and look forward to their debut album, whenever it’s released – definitely a band worth checking out.

Bonus points for being named after a bird.

Four bands in one night is a pretty packed lineup; to be honest I could’ve done without Popskarr…personal taste aside, they just didn’t fit musically with all the other bands, though playing with a live drummer (something new for them, I believe) added a lot of energy. Funnily enough, it was the smiley Sasha from the Plastics behind the drums – once again making me feel bad for not really enjoying the band he was playing with…

The whole 80s revival thing is cool and all but what bugs me about Popskarr is that none of their songs really seemed to go anywhere – musically and particularly lyrically – and they just felt a little sparse up on the stage. To be fair though, I probably would’ve liked them better in a different context.

As Kidofdoom started setting up their instruments on the stage, I realised, much to my misfortune, that I was standing next to the Richard Brokensha fan club. Their tequilas splashed all over my shoulder as they flailed their arms and screamed his name – he rewarded them with a wave and a slightly embarrassed smile and they almost passed out. Then the band started playing and the swooning gave way to cheers.

While they lack that dark edge that makes me love bands like Mogwai and God is an Astronaut, (and even Bateleur) Kidofdoom are cool to listen to and loads of fun to watch, plus they performed my two favourite tracks so I was happy – Space Walk bounced along merrily (though it always makes me think of green forests more than space for some reason) and set-closer Minor Disagreements dipped and soared and left everyone pleased.

They have a sense of humour too which is always refreshing – from Richard Brokensha’s signature moves and minor freakouts behind the keyboards, to the fun-tastic mid-set rendition of Ghostbusters and to the encore of the Super Mario theme song, they had everyone smiling and bouncing…which would’ve seriously dampened the dryness of my arm if the Brokensha fangirls hadn’t drunkenly dropped their tequilas behind the barricade (thank you, gravity).