CHANGE CITY :
I had been keenly awaiting this gig since its announcement several months ago, particularly given the strength of !!!’s (pronounced chk chk chk) super funky Myth Takes album of last year. The possible threat of missing out on seeing a band that has such a highly rated live show, given that tickets were only available at the door, had me arriving early fully equipped to camp out on Hindley Street. Strangely enough there was no long queue, perhaps due to the low scale lead up; oh well, that’s Adelaide. At least we were guaranteed that Rocket wasn’t going to be a packed sardine tin and there would be some room to dance. Still, a good crowd of mostly cool indie types built up slowly but surely.
!!! are a highly original punk/funk/dance outfit from New York. Being a club-friendly band in the vein of The Rapture and LCD Soundsystem helped them get listed on the We Love Sounds 2008 tour. Adelaide’s version of this event didn’t feature !!!, so we were extremely fortunate to experience their energetic and intimate solo show. There was no live support act, with Sam and Dave from Fire! Santa Rosa, Fire! expertly filling the slot playing DJ sets until way past 11 when !!! took over the room with the familiar bass riff for Yadnus. The band is currently a seven-piece with Nic and Shannon (vocals), Mario (guitar, percussion), Tyler (guitar, bass, electronics), Allan (percussion, sax, drums, keys), Gorman (percussion, keys, trumpet) and Jerry (drums). Lead singer Nic is a live wire who has been likened to Iggy Pop, but I’d say he is not nearly as unattractive or warped as him with many more disco-tinged moves. He’s certainly a crowd pleaser who clearly loves a damn good boogie, as does his co-singer Shannon who revved up the crowd every couple of songs with a “How are ya doin Adelaide?”
The band quickly followed suit with Myth Takes and the fabulous All My Heroes Are Weirdos, both off their latest album. Almost every song they did fused the groove-oriented guitars and vocals enthusiastically with a percussive presence consisting of two drum kits (one conventional and one for percussion), keyboards and saxaphone. Pardon My Freedom, off earlier album Louden Up Now, then showed us a slightly different side, an angrier political edge, yet still with that infectious groove designed to get you moving. During the next song Nic leapt into the first few rows to dance around with a rhythmic cow bell much to the delight of the ladies in the audience.
A few new songs filled mid-set and proved to be just as catchy as the older ones. With the crowd finally revved up, Nic announced that they only had two songs left. After a few noticable boos, Nic explained with his cheeky smile that we shouldn’t be so hasty in our judgement and that in two songs time we may well be satisfied with their performance. It was a nice take on a common gig scenario, however it didn’t stop us wanting more. We could all guess what those final two songs would be. Hit single Must Be The Moon was announced to huge cheers and dance moves busting out of everyone in the room. A killer break down drew out the song for a few more precious minutes. Then we were treated to Heart Of Hearts in true !!! style and another outburst of sweaty dancing. Not too many bands in the world of indie dance can compete with the energy and captivation of these two hits.
I left Rocket Bar wanting more and whilst some believe this to be the sign of a good show, it was symptomatic of the short taste of what this band can do live. My only consolation is that with so many bands of this ilk bypassing this town, I’d gladly take just 10 songs over none.
