The annual Modular/Ksubi Christmas bash went down at The Forum in Sydney on Friday night. Lots of skinny jeans, attractive ladies, mind-altering substances and glow sticks were on hand to get on down to some hot new musical talent.
The Vendettas kicked things off with a great set of highly catchy and proficient tunes. The small crowd that had gathered early were apprecitve if not a little stationary to a band who write and perform some great rock music. As Pix has already noted, their frontwoman is a total fox and the band put on a fantastic show. Very good start to the evening.
MYSPACE: The Vendettas
The venue packed out pretty quickly after this, just in time to catch Aussie hype-kids The Ghosts. When I say kids, they look pretty young...but that works to their advantage, with a precociousness and ambition that many bands lack. Their set was nearly identical to the show they played at the Knife Factory last monday, yet they seemed to grow an extra leg in their larger surroundings, with very danceable tunes with a slightly darker edge. These guys were fantastic.
MYSPACE: The Ghosts
Next up were probably my most anticipated band of the evening, Sydney's own Van She. The band emerged in their usual dapper fashion, belting out some new tracks that suprisingly were better than the great material from their debut EP, alongside their older 'classics'. 'Kelly' whipped the now large throng into a heaving, dancing mass and to close out their unfortunately short set, a more uptempo version of 'Sex City' was greeted with even more furious boogie-ing. I expected these guys to be poor live for some reason....but they are anything but. Great stuff Van She
MYSPACE: Van She
Then on came the international acts. New Young Pony Club come all the way from the UK and their brand of new wave-influenced pop went down like the smoothest of ales. Their live sound was tight and dense, yet sharp. Their front-woman, who reminded me of M.I.A., was a snarling and pulsating vixen on stage who brought the crowd into their world and set the dancefloor alight. I know their is lots of hype surrounding this band, however ever single bit of it is justified. NYPC ruled the night and their excellence was crystallised for me then and there.
MYSPACE: New Young Pony Club
On to the headliners. NME's fuck buddies Klaxons. I must say, I am not a fan of this band at all...yet I wiped away all prejudices and said to them 'Impress me'. They failed. At times the band were pretty good, with moments of chaotic punk emerging yet it wasn't enough. Their songs aren't good to start with, which makes bringing them to life live a challenge. By about song three, I wanted to hack my ear drums out. However I do see some potential there as they are extremely green, but on that performance it seems there is no substance behind the facade of hype just yet. The punters loved it, but I sure didnt.
MYSPACE: Klaxons
What did I think of the night? It was fantastic to see new bands coming through making some incredible pop music for an appreciative audience. The Vendettas and The Ghosts are as exciting as Van She are cool, and as groove-worthy as New Young Pony Club are exciting. Riot In Belgium did well to round out my night in a typically slamming DJ set which helped wash out the horrible aftertaste of Klaxons.
