Golden Age Of Ballooning + Neon Queen + Venus Court @ Old Bar 21-10-18
words & photos: Rick Clifford @rcstills
Review
“Heavy on the jams, the musicianship amongst the Brisbane six piece is tight yet experimental at its core.”
Local Melbourne two piece Venus Court open to a well-full Sunday night Old Bar, their set consistent with dreamy melodies accompanied by super sharp harmonies. The VC brothers two piece ensemble is without question captivating and emotive. Adding to this a backing band with echoed out trumpets only helps push out the body and volume of VC’s sound.
Neon Queen appear on stage and create a new vibe entirely to the predeceasing act. Heavy on dance floor filling tunes, we’re treated to pop r’n’b numbers that coat the walls of an intimate Sunday night show with Friday night’s post work dance anthems. Creating a mixed bag feel to the night early on.
Golden Age Of Ballooning by their Monty Python name sake, take to the now cramped stage to present a “Flying Circus” to the genre’s that intro’d their headline set tonight. The band touring their latest single Savage Mountain, acclimatise the room to a moody change and pace. Heavy on the jams, the musicianship amongst the Brisbane six piece is tight yet experimental at its core. Shifting through various time signatures and dynamics, its easily a soundtrack to an internal mindscape. Namely the title track and whole reason for the tour - Savage Mountain - takes us on this journey, through structured verses and chorus, to the epically dynamic time changes, to the absolute melting of the face guitar solos.
I’d be remiss to say that I’ve been a fan of this band for awhile. Seeing them play is always a ride into a throwback/ bygone era, one that I’m all to happy to frequent. Over the years, GAOB’s sound has remained at this juncture and for a lot of reasons this is a thing to cherish. As times and trends evolve it’d be hard to maintain composure, direction and sound given the climate of the industry. This sextet somehow does it with ease and style, which should be a sort after value for any band or punter.
