Well what can I say? One of the oddest, most hard-to-define, gigs I’ve ever seen. It was probably either brilliant or awful, but I’m having trouble deciding which. Maybe it was both…
A.R.E. Weapons are the hugely-hyped group out of New York City, comprising Matthew McAuley, Brain F McPeck and manager/musician Paul Sevigny (brother of actress Chloe Sevigny). Their music is raw, loud and oozing with a “don’t give a fuck” attitude. It’s also messy and, usually, out of tune. But this almost seems to be the point. The music itself is hard to define. It’s been called electro, and even electroclash, but it’s more punk than dance. Call it electro-punk. Hard beats with camp synths, roaring guitar and screamed lyrics. Subtle it’s not, interesting it is.
The punk element is particularly apparent live, with the band bouncing around the stage screaming. The guitarist broke a string in the first song and so there was no guitar for the next 3-4 tracks (a guitarist who can’t re-string his own guitar?). Interestingly this seemed to make next to no difference to the sound. There was something spectacularly awful about it – the terrible fashion (bandana, sweat-bands, oh so post-modern “A.R.E. Weapons” shirts), the discordant and off-kilter racket, the lame lyrics. But there’s something so raw about it, so rock, so uncaring, that is truly engaging. Here is truly a band that operates outside the usual bullshit and superficial packaging of the music industry. But then my cynicism for “the next big thing” kicks in and I wonder if it’s an front. Or, perhaps, if there’s a good reason this sort of thing is outside the usual spectrum of published music. At the end of the day they resemble nothing so much as a garage punk band of mediocre talent, but with a cranked up drum machine and a hype machine to match.
Do I sound conflicted? I am. It was one of the funniest shows I’ve seen in ages. But musically it left something to be desired. It was interesting watching the crowd play out the brilliant/awful dilemma. The Spanish club had been packed when they went on-stage (after a great dj set from Gerling and, from all reports, a great set from the fantastic pretty boy crossover, but I missed them) but by the end of their delayed, shortened 45-minute set, perhaps 50% had made their goodbyes and headed for the door. Meanwhile, a core group of fans were going nuts at the front. Moshing, not dancing, was the movement of choice. The crowd had really got going on the third track with the repeated, triumphant chorus of “fuck you, baby” getting the fans joining in. And their radio hit “Hey Kids” was huge.
Special mention must go to Dsico that no talent hack, who played to a greatly diminished crowd after A.R.E. He is one of the unrecognized talents of the Sydney scene. His twisted bootlegs and cut-up pop mish-mashes were the perfect way to end the night. Ghetto Prom Queen (J. Lo vs Ladytron) and Love will Freak Us (Missy Elliot vs Joy Division deserve special mention.
A good night, I was glad I went. Well done to the popfrenzy crew for their efforts and for a fantastically well put together local line-up and an emerging and eclectic international act, all for a low price.
