But one thing I did was odd was the number of photographer at the front of the bands set I counted 7 at one point. It was very strange.
Next were Further a band I have seen on a number of occasions and have always put on a good show. Further are a Post Punk band who have released 3 solid albums so they have allot of material to build a set from. Their set was based on track from their first album "Punkrockvampires" and third album "Tactics". The band were tight and looked like they were having allot of fun. Always great to see them and they are definitely Sydney's best kept secret. Highlights for me were "Tactics”, “Please Leave Quietly" & "Romance".
I have been long time fan of the Trail of Dead getting into them on the "Madonna" album but it had been a few years since I first was Trail of Dead live. The show at the Forum was a great show so when I saw the band was touring their excellent "Tao of the Dead" I was excited. The band at that time had swelled to 6 including 2 drummers and was a different beast to this slimmer 4 piece version of the band. As the band entered the stage the Manning Bar was far from full but this didn't seem to faze the band who launched into 16 minute long "Strange News From Another Planet". The band sounded more direct and the addition of Bassist Autry Fulbright II and Drummer/Guitarist Jamie Miller gave the band a renewed energy. "Strange News..." was truly epic and was a really testament to the music the band had crafted on "Tao of the Dead". This was followed without break with a selection of parts from the "Tao of the Dead". All the tracks work really well live and the real highlights were the mid paced "Ebb Away" which seemed to groove more live and the absolutely manic "The Fairlight Pendant". Two tracks from the patchy “World Apart” followed with the classic “Will You Smile Again?” and “Caterwaul”. Both tracks were great with “Will You Smile Again?” being simply mind-blowing live. The drummer swapping began on “Source Tags and Codes” tracks with Jason taking a lion’s share of the drum duties and Conrad help out on one track. The real surprise was how good a guitarist Drummer Jamie Miller actually was and he certainly held his own. The “Source Tags & Codes” tunes were all great with “It Was There That I Saw You” & “Now Near How Far” being full of energy and the sublime “Another Morning Stoner” showing its class and why it is still an indie classic. Madonna was represented by the punky “A Perfect Teenhood” and melancholy “Claire De Lune”. Both were great and "A Perfect Teenhood" feature some freestyling from Conrad. Luckily this time around we were treated to two songs from the band Self Titled debut album. Both were manic and rugged with noise being the approach for these songs. The encore game was missed tonight and the band just got onto business with “Richter Scale Madness” which included a band initiated stage invasion with the band somehow managing to play amongst it all. It was quite funny although there a number of nobbles who thought everyone would enjoying their sing or a random bit of swearing. I hope you got that out of your system that kids.
This slimmer version of the really delivered and in some ways meant that the band could be much more direct with the songs. Somehow the band bettered the Forum show and I got another great night with one of the best band around.
...and you will know us by the Trail of Dead Setlist:
Strange News From Another Planet
The Spiral Jetty
Weight of the Sun (or the Post-Modern Prometheus)
Ebb Away
The Fairlight Pendant
Will You Smile Again?
Caterwaul
It Was There That I Saw You
How Near How Far
Fake Fake Eyes
Another Morning Stoner
A Perfect Teenhood
Clair de Lune
Richter Scale Madness
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