Lansdowne 17/10/26

Another gig at the Lansdowne, another gig where I can’t see at least one member of the band from my small chick possie. That, or I can’t see any of them from the floor so…..

In my ‘support the support’ mode, this one doesn’t count because both supports were a big plus to my ticket purchase. I have seen both support bands before and listen to them, so it wasn’t hard to support the support.

Finnoguns Wake was the first support. I think I have seen these guys twice, supporting others. One of those times might have been at Bootleggers, supporting Dr Sure’s Unusual Practice, but I could be wrong. I could check, but I’m pretty sure it probably isn’t that big a deal to anyone reading. All two of you. At any rate, I remember enjoying them and then listening to their catalogue and thinking I would catch them again if I could. So here I am.

This was actually a fairly trippy experience. To begin with, I was looking around the room from my small person possie up on the side benches, and an odd surge of nostalgia washed over me as I saw so many shoes I would have seen at gigs in the ’90s. It was beautiful. In fact, entire fits wouldn’t have been out of place in the very same venue 30 years prior. But this was enhanced all the more as Finnoguns Wake started to play. Shoegaze-y sounds, with some punk roots, supported by the lighting guy going full hazy pink, screaming My Bloody Valentine’s Loveless album cover vibes. So I embraced my younger self and just loved every minute.

Twelve Point Buck are a band I only discovered this year and managed to catch at the Chippo not heaps long ago. I vowed to myself it wouldn’t be the last time. They are fun to watch, the fuzzy, rocky sound, mixed with their ability to nail a tempo change, full crescendos, outright beat drops and just funky tunes, meant it also had a bit of a throwback feel. The entire band are a smiley, bouncy, gracious group of individuals who seem to enjoy playing, and they were playing to a group of peeps who obviously were loving it. What Matters was probably my favourite song of the set, if not the night, potentially; even though my view of the owner of half of the beautiful vocals was obscured by my vantage point.

This was my third or fourth time seeing Nancy and the Jam Fancys. The first time, (maybe second), was at Moshpit when they were supporting Nunchukka Superfly. Such an intimate venue, it was awesome. I bought merch and had one of my classic “awkward moments with Ali” with the poor band member selling me said merch. The other times I have seen them, it has been as a support also, so it was cool to catch them doing their thing.

A five-piece with a singer (Lewis) who could have easily made a mint in the ’40s and ’50s with his swoon-worthy crooner voice. Tonight he sang the whole set, and when I say the whole set, I mean ALL set. So a song stops, Lewis keeps singing until the band starts playing again. No topic was off-limits. It made it hard to know when to applaud actually, which I felt might have meant the band felt less appreciated.

The new single Tear was awesome to watch live. Of course, Mirror My Melody was awesome, and Come Over was also a set highlight. After a bass hiccup, that Lewis sang us through, we did get an encore that sealed off the night, with the crowd, and some of the band, attempting some crowd surfing, and generally getting out the last of our energy before we called it a night.

Three great bands. Three great sets. One great night.