4ZZZ Rumble Rock Wrestling @ The Jubilee Hotel

You just haven’t lived until you’ve seen a giant throw a midget at a couple of ninjas…

After recent lukewarm shows at The Troubadour and at The Hi-Fi, at the third attempt the widespread and vocal support of Hits in Brisbane makes perfect sense. In spite of all the odds, the worst sound possibly ever ‘heard’, far, far worse than that at the Hi-Fi bar a week earlier, Evil Dick having to hold two microphones up against his mouth to get any sort of vocals coming out of the PA, and yet somehow they pull it off with typical aplomb and bravado. Maybe the answer is that Hits work best when the sound is ultra-fuzzy and not the crystal clear sound that you normally demand from a music venue, with the vocals niceties largely lost in the mix, with the melodiesÂ turning into an integral part of the songs rather than being something that exists in a layer that lies on top of the guitars, bass and drums.Â And, whereas the distance between the audience and the band was detrimental at the Hi-Fi show, when they’re in your face, on a stage so small they might as well play just play on the floor, the band’s exuberance and cock-sure swagger shines through.

The sound problems get even worse for Sixfthick, something no one present thought would be possible during Hit’s set, to the extent that the band end up split into two camps, with Dan, Tony and Fred continuing to play on the stage, whilst Geoff and Ben have to relocate to the mixing desk and plug their microphones directly into the desk. A typical Sixfthick show usually involves the band playing from both ends of a venue at various times during the course of the night, but tonight it takes on a whole new meaning.

More photos on Flickr.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 10th, 2009 at 10:29 pm. It is filed under Music Photography and tagged with 4ZZZ, Hits, Jubilee Hotel, Justin Edwards, Metallurgy, Rumble Rock, SixFtHick, Sony a700, wrestling, www.notaphoto.com. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

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Stephen Goodwin says:

June 11, 2009 at 5:16 pm

It’s obvious that everything is better with midgets and ninjas. Maybe the Hi Fi should get some in.

Wouldn’t dual mics create feedback? Great Six Ft Hick photos…

Justin says:

June 12, 2009 at 4:50 pm

No amount of midgets and ninjas was ever going to make Mission Control any better… unless it involved them being stopped from playing…

Don’t know about the microphones and feedback. I guess not from what i saw though.

Thanks, is tough photographing Sixfthick when it’s tough lighting – was having to use the old trick of being pre-focused in the light bit of the stage so that could take photos as they passed through the spot. Also helps when Gentle Ben has a bit of a rest and has a lie down for a few seconds….

June 13, 2009 at 9:18 pm

Oh gosh, Mission Control were so AWFUL. I still can’t quite believe that halfway through their stint, I was going to myself “why isn’t this over yet?” No hooks, terrible vocals, indistinct guitars, insipid drumming that at times didn’t even match the “melody” and that act where the vocalist shoved the drumstick against the fretboard constantly was ridiculously overdone. And zero charisma.

Ladytron doesn’t do much better in the charisma stakes, but they can at least unearth a hook and craft a tune. And then hold it when they play it live. Decent performance, but ultimately uninspiring.

I remain less than impressed with the Hi-Fi’s ambience.

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