March 26, 2008

Tiger Army arrived at a very balmy HiFi Bar a week or so back and were greeted with a raucous crowd. The underground lair that is Melbourne’s ‘throbbing heart of rocknroll’ was positively steaming, especially in anticipation of a band who’ve not graced our shores for many years. However somewhere between my recounting which songs off the brilliant Music From Regions Beyond I’d like to witness live, and gasping in the crisp night air on Swanston St, something went wrong. The sound was definitely suffering. Feedback rang through the set at random intervals as tech men scurried about stage and sound booth scowling. Nick 13’s vocals, though buttery smooth seemed to detract from the frenzied psychobilly bass, effectively sapping the energy from the set and the drummer laboured away in the shadows. It soon became apparent that a portion of the crowd just weren’t feeling it and relative disillusion wasn’t aided by the singer’s clichéd dedications like “this goes out to anyone who’s ever been through a tough time”. Not even the band’s catchcry of “Tiger Army Never Die!” could energise a thinning crowd. It brought back memories of Minus The Bear’s recent show at the same venue. Within mere minutes of the set commencing it became apparent that sometimes even the most exciting bands fail to translate in a live context. And you know what? That’s OK. Sometimes even the most highly anticipated gigs by some of the most innovative and talented bands out just aren’t meant to be.