[Live Review] ALT-J

Hordern Pavilion, Sydney
Wednesday July 31, 2013 :

It’s that time of the year again when everyone is either coming down from Splendour or wishing they were, a vibe so clearly evident as I entered the Hordern Pavilion on Wednesday night for Alt-J’s last Australian show before heading off to the US to play Lollapalooza. Although this chill attitude didn’t stop crowds from arriving early to catch support acts City Calm Down (CCD) and Snakadaktal, with the venue just over half full nearly two hours before Alt-J were due to take to the stage.

As soon as front man Jack Bourke of CCD opened his mouth, my attention was glued to his deep baritone voice. A mix between Matt Berninger (The National) and Jonathan Pierce (The Drums), Bourke’s tone cut through the thick layers of electro synth and intricate rhythms. Comparable to English band The Horrors, CCD possess a strong sound and an obvious hunger for creativity. I can see a bright future for this polished Melbourne four piece, as they successfully won over the crowd by the end of their set.

Young indie pop band Snakadaktal were up next, entering the room ever so gracefully before picking up their instruments. It’s been a couple of years now since they won Triple J’s Unearthed High competition, and although they have come a far way, their stage presence is still fairly confined. Two songs in they pulled out their newbie ‘Hung On Tight’, the first single for their debut album released yesterday, Sleep In The Water. Phoebe Cockburn’s meek talking voice greets the crowd before Sean Heathcliff takes the reigns expressing their excitement for the album release. The crowd start to come alive when the riff for popular song ‘Air’ begins. The dynamics may have been missing but the musicianship definitely wasn’t. They produced a really tight sound and the tone of Cockburn’s voice was so beautiful, it made me swoon.

The room was jammed full ready for Alt-J to appear when the lights went dark and all of a sudden, Tyga’s ‘Rack City’ started blearing out of the speakers. On strolls Alt-J waving and bowing like rock gods. It was pretty badass. In my eyes they achieved a great opening, kicking off the set with ‘Intro’ from their album, An Awesome Wave. When Joe Newman and Gus Unger-Hamilton uttered those first lyrics the atmosphere just exploded. Everyone was immersed in the sound, the glowing tree branches and flower shaped lights that filled the room.

Getting into the psychedelic, indie folk vibe, puffs of smoke were rising out of the crowd in every direction, as people were lifted onto shoulder tops, swaying to the beat of ‘Tessellate’. The clear, crisp vocals of Newman and Unger-Hamilton were near perfect, not missing a single note during the entire show. An interesting set up too, as drummer Thom Green was positioned to the side at the front of the stage next to bass/guitarist Gwil Sainsbury.

Although they weren’t extremely chatty, it didn’t at all impact on their connection with the audience. The confidence they have in each other allowed them to let go in their performance, revealing the raw emotion hidden behind their song writing. Green was a machine, faultlessly hitting out every rhythm without any sign of tiring. ‘Fitzpleasure’ took things to a whole other level, before taking it down a notch with their mash up of Kylie Minogue’s ‘Slow’ and Dr Dre’s ‘Still’ (‘Slow Dre’), which seemed to be lost on some people.

‘Breezeblocks’ was an obvious high to end on, showing off their charismatic personality and ability to manipulate the crowd’s sentiment. But of course it wasn’t really the end, as Newman and Unger-Hamilton appeared again singing a Capella before Sainsbury and Green re-entered. ‘Taro’ was last on the cards, just as it is last on the album, a smart and enormously effective move on Alt-J’s part. Song order is everything and they really nailed it. I easily rate it as one of the best shows I’ve been to. Props to Alt-J!

Reviewer: Louie Smith
Photographer: Chrissy Kavalieros

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ipIZsehH0A