Imagine jumping on a plane, travelling half way across the world, making numerous festival appearances; traversing the enormous continent of Australia and still managing to squeeze in a spate of sideshows.
For Motion City Soundtrack, Deaf Havana, and The Early November this busy schedule is the reality of playing the Soundwave Festival. But the lack of sleep and pressures of the band life didn’t show when the three groups took the stage at Melbourne’s Hi-Fi Bar.
It’s always difficult to be the opening act, but Deaf Havana filled the position flawlessly.
The consistently great audio mixing of the venue combined with the talent of the band saw the London based outfit set a high benchmark for the evening.
Deaf Havana replicated the full sound of their recorded work in the live environment with precision. While the musicianship displayed was impressive, their crowd interaction showed some inexperience as performers.
Vocalist James Veck-Gilodi had a tendency to talk for long periods of time in a completely self-deprecating tone. The audience didn’t respond well to this tactic, but each time Deaf Havana began playing again, the gaffs of the singer seemed to be forgotten.
Unlike the opening act, The Early November took more time to find their place upon the stage. After a few missed notes and some obviously lethargy, the New Jersey pop punkers seemed to warm up, but despite their best efforts never seemed to hit their full stride.
It was hard to differentiate between the three guitars that morphed together creating a sort of two-dimensional live experience. However, credit must be given for their ability to create pop punk with unique tempo changes and varying time signatures.
The audience was undeterred by a less than perfect performance and seemed excited and enthusiastic for the duration of the set.
Despite having graced Australian shores several times in the past decade, the audience seemed thrilled and eager to experience Motion City Soundtrack once more.
Opening with “My Favourite Accident” the veteran five-piece wasted no time displaying their wealth of talent.
Justin Pierre was able to sing at a phenomenally fast rate while hitting every note perfectly. At no point during the hour-long performance did his voice falter.
Vocal credit must also be given to drummer Tony Thaxton, who managed not only to drive songs with his excellent playing, but also sung with an impressive vocal range on a number of songs.
Motion City Soundtrack also displayed professionalism in their ability to relate to the audience. As Pierre interacted with the crowd, the air of eccentricity that is so apparent in his lyricism shone through, and the spectators appeared to embrace every odd word.
When the opening bars of “LGFUAD” began to play, there was not a fan in the Hi-Fi Bar who didn’t feel the sincerity in Pierre’s lyrics.
Special mention should be given for the enthusiasm of Moogist, Jesse Johnson. While Motion City Soundtrack are well known their the signature moog sound, there are songs with a reduced role.
In order to fill this space, Johnson danced, thrashed, boogied and even played the cowbell. This lifted the overall energy of the performance, making it not only more comical, but also more entertaining. It was evident that for Johnson, the joy of playing in a band hasn’t faded in the slightest.
Motion City Soundtrack’s musicianship was impeccable. Following Deaf Havana’s lead, each song sounded as perfect as on their records. Finishing with “Everything Is Alright” the crowd chanted expectantly for an encore.
When they reemerged for to perform “Disappear” and “Hold Me Down”, the combination of back up vocals and driving bass actually made the songs sound fuller than on their records.
Motion City Soundtrack proved to the crowd what talented musicianship combined with excellent showmanship can be. Despite all the setbacks associated with big international tours, all five band members brought vitality and passion to the stage.
