Ladytron @ The Hi-Fi

Six weeks after the opening of the Hi-Fi Brisbane to a generally less than impressed audience, Ladytron‘s second Brisbane show in less than nine months means a return to the venue.  To be honest not a lot more progress seems to have been made in those six weeks; the paint smell might have gone but there’s a definite sense of unfinished building work, both exterior and inside, as well as not much improvement in the overall sound in the venue.  And by all accounts the venue’s customer service management leaves a lot to be desired.

Melbourne’s Mission Control are already well into their support slot by the time I get.  This is a bad thing as instead of focusing on taking photos I have to sit there and endure their set.   They are truly shocking and it’s hard to think of any redeeming features; electronic based dance music but without any memorable melodic hooks be it vocal or instrumental.  It beggars belief that they’re signed to Modular and have toured with Bloc Party, Mystery Jets, played last year’s Nevereverland and are playing this year’s Parklife.   

My first Ladytron live experience is something of a disappointment as well.  They essentially have one song, which is a bit classic Krautrock, a bit 80s New Romantic and a bit Euro pop; it’s a pretty good song but still it’s only really one song.  There’s also a coldness about the band and a sense of detachment from the audience, possibly not helped by it being a Sunday night (albeit with a public holiday on the Monday) and a half filled venue.  Engagement is at a minimum; not much more than the usual pleasantries at the end of songs and some slightly awkward onstage dancing to distinguish it from five people hunched over their instruments in the dark for an hour and a bit.

Photographing is extremely difficult, with it being extremely dark throughout and so it becomes a case of studying the lighting patterns and trying to predict when there might be a quick flash of light in which to take a photo.  Although it took a month or so to arrive, there is a photo pit barrier; the trouble is that it’s just been pushed right against the stage tonight and so I end up shooting from the audience, positioned at the top of the steps to try and get an unobstructed view.  The place still has that feeling of claustrophobia, even though it’s not full tonight, and there seems to be a constant stream of people pushing past all night long as they move back and forth around the venue, which further hinders trying to get anything much decent from the photos.

A few more photos on Flickr.

One Response to “Ladytron @ The Hi-Fi”

  1. Brett says:

    hi, great pics. have you got any more of this show?

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.