Browsing over the Exodus flyer earlier this year, I had noticed that The Bird were on the line up and was quite disappointed by the fact there was no way I could make it down to northern NSW that weekend to see them play. Flooded with memories of the last time I had seen them in Brisbane almost 2 years ago, I decided to have a quick glance on their website to see if they would be visiting Brisbane any time soon. Not only did I notice that they were visiting in late February, but they were touring to support their new CD/DVD. Further investigation into their Brisbane gig revealed that were going to be supported by two of my local favourites the band D-Ko and Resin Dogs’ member Dave Dog. As you can imagine it took me about 2 seconds to circle the date they were playing in my diary and another 2 seconds to ring up my friends telling them to do the same.

I had hoped to arrive at The Zoo early enough on the night to catch Dave Dog’s set, but instead managed to catch a whole 5 minutes in total, which was rather disappointing to say the least. Walking up to the bar, I soon realised that I had not been to The Zoo in almost 2 years and was quite shocked (and embarrassed) by this fact. How can one who claims to be so very much into live music not having visited one of Brisbane’s prime live venues in almost 2 years? Even I could not answer this question.

Gazing back to the stage while enjoying one of the best priced Vodka and Red Bulls I had ever consumed, I could see the member’s of the Brisbane outfit D-Ko slowly filling the stage. My eyes were quickly drawn to their drummer who was untastefully clad in what seemed to be a white towelling head band. The only conclusion I could come to for him wearing such attire was that he was possibly a big fan of Kevin Bacon and the movie Footloose, who knows. Their vocalist Evelyn Golding however looked absolutely stunning and it wasn’t long before her beautiful voice could be heard throughout the room. Now the thing I like the most about D-Ko is that they are basically every dance genre that you enjoy all rolled into one (ok, maybe with the exception of hardcore) and there is always something to keep everyone happy at their shows. One minute with their sound you think you are caught in some 60s Mod Squad kind of movie and the next minute you feel like you are at some voodoo worshipping ceremony. On the night, their show stayed true to this form.

For me, the highlights on the night from D-Ko were when they played ‘Walk On’ and ‘Tribal Gathering’. ‘Walk On’ has such a sweet likable melody that is just perfectly covered with Golding’s vocals and is a track that I feel sounds at its best performed live. ‘Tribal Gathering’ on the other hand just gets the entire crowd up on their feet dancing and obviously has the same affect on their lead guitarist who spent the entire track jumping around like a jack rabbit. It was great to see the band having as much fun as the audience, especially since they had taken the oppurtunity to film some of the night for an upcoming music clip. As D-Ko left the stage, I don’t think there was a single person in the crowd even slightly disappointed by their performance and they had certainly left everyone bursting with energy to see The Bird.

“B B B B B B Birrdddd B B B B B Birrdddd” came over the PA, and again, and again. Soon the entire crowd had their attention focused on The Bird. Then Pow! Ben Walsh their drummer just went completely crazy. How this man does what he does, has me completely puzzled. He certainly gives every man-made drum machine a run for its money. No wonder he sports such toned arms. So only 1 minute into their set and the entire crowd is going completely nuts to the jungle influenced sounds they were pumping out, the entire time their bass player Barry Hall looks as if he is playing at some laid back jazz bar. Next minute Dave Dog appears back on stage and treats the audience to some of his infamous scratching, over the top of some grinding drum and bass The Bird had slowly worked their way into. Like D-Ko, The Bird are another group that have a bag full of tricks, when it comes to providing the audience with a buffet full of dance genres at a show. A quick visit to the toilet for me and on my return they are playing something that is verging on the edge of Acid Jazz. A friend recently asked me would I ever go see any one band play for 8 hours straight? My initial reply was “No way, I think I would get bored listening to the same band for that long”. After seeing The Bird again though, I could definitely watch them play for 20 hours and not get bored.

The Zoo, not being an air conditioned venue, didn’t take very long for its temperature to get rather unbearable. Strategically placing myself under one of the fans, soon helped me minimise the taunts of the heat, focusing my energies back on dancing for a little while. Like many I was quite enjoying hearing drum and bass coming out of a live band, rather than a DJ like I am used to. The later part of The Bird’s set seemed to feature a lot more of the reggae influenced sounds that are heavily present on their new CD/DVD ‘The Birdsville Sessions’ and although I’m not the biggest reggae fan, I felt the band interlaced those sounds neatly in with their other influences. I also really enjoyed the Psy-like squeals that featured over one of their later tracks. The boys then closed the show with some more floor grinding drum and bass, nicely accompanied by the talented Dave Dog once again, leaving the crowd in a mood that could have left them partying for another few hours.

Overall, a superb show by all acts involved and a quick reminder that I don’t have to travel very far, to hear some of the best local talent around.