Belated Parachute 2008 Reviews - Friday Night
First act I caught for the night was a Rotorua band called The Ode on the debut stage. Their frontman is the younger brother of my good mate Jeremy (who was my best man- and taught me my first few chords on the guitar) It was their first gig at parachute and they were quite fun - with quite a few supporters singing along.
After that it was off to the mainstage to catch All Left Out- again an "I know someone who knows someone in the band" connection (their drummer's sister is married to my older brother). As always, they put on a fantastic high energy show, although the crowd enegery was a little underwhelming. Still, it was a fun set with a lot of songs off their new album (the Conquest- it's good - get it if you like really good quality NZ Christian themed pop punk). Was very impressed by the bass player swinging his instrument not once, but twice round his neck in one go in the middle of "the lights" Before their last song, they did a very brief talky bit about how they as a band are all Christians and that they invite people who aren't to check it out - which being at a Christian festival got a lot of cheers- what impressed me though - was that it was almost the same talk they gave when I saw them in a Christchurch pub a few months ago - it's cool that whether it's a seedy sports bar or a christian festival, their openness about their faith is the same. Much respect.
After All Left Out finished, Joy ( my wife) headed off to the debut stage to see a band her old youth group leader (from 8 years ago) is in, and I hung around mainstage with the guys from Mona Vale Falls and watched Antiskeptic. A lot of sound for a 3 piece, without sounding like everything was backing tracked, which was cool. They certainly know how to rock... great singing (and screaming) voices for what they play - hard rock. Solid amount of energy, and strong guitar drive. The guitarist and the bass player shared the frontman role between them really well.
After they finished, I headed further up into the moshpit space in preparation for Red. I'd listened to the album in store once, and listened to the tracks on their myspace a few times, as well as having browsed a few youtube clips of them playing live. I knew that in my opinion, their album sounds over produced and a little generic, but that I could probably expect a decent live show - I wasn't disappointed. Whilst on a record it gets repetitive if every song has a quiet bit then a heavy bit then a quiet bit then a heavy bit, it is really perfect for moshing- gives a chance to go nuts for 20 seconds then recover you energy. Onstage the band had a lot of energy and certainly know how to perform, with a very theatrical frontman, who honestly comes off as a little creepy— Not helped by the black eye makeup, or his tendency to put his hand near his crotch mid scream. The highlight of their set was the encore, which included their single "breathe into me" which benefitted from the extra energy that comes when the majority of the crowd know the song really well, as well as one song performed just by the singer and one of the guitarists on an acoustic. This song showed off how good a rock voice he has, as well as how if you strip away the generic nu-metal production that leaves everything sounding the same, they can actually write a really good song. Will be interested to see the music that comes out of these guys in the future.
As soon as this finished it was a mad dash to find the obscure location of the White Elephant Stage to see one of the most interesting performers of parachute this year— Half Handed Cloud. This multi instrumentalist from the states is part of the same indie folk/ alternative scene as Sufjan Stevens and Danielson. Made it there in time and was very impressed. Setting up onstage with a floor tom, a snare drum, an omnichord, a miniature keyboard, an acoustic guitar, a banjo, a trombone and a cassette tape player, this one man band put on an amazing, intimate performance. Definitely a highlight. The varying song lengths, bizarre changes and instrumentations and his friendly manner made this a highly enjoyable and entertaining set. Many of his songs referenced odd and obscure parts of the bible (eg walking in backwards to cover up your naked father, and javelins, amongst others). The only disappointing thing was how few people were there, although in a way that was kinda cool, as it gave a peculiar sense of satisfaction to know you had just seen one of the best international acts at parachute ever, and most people weren't even aware of it.
After that it was time to rehydrate ( still hadn't after Red and was feeling very thirsty) then off to the palladium to catch Jonezetta's late night show. Big ups to parachute this year for having two headline acts (Red and Jonezetta) play a late night palladium show on the alternate nights from their mainstage sets. It's great to get two shows from bands that have travelled a long way to get here. Jonezetta's show was tight and polished. The palladium sound was far louder than any of the stages I had been too so far tonight- the bass (frequencies rather than the instrument) were almost overpowering, but that kinda suited their dancey style. They played all the songs I recognised from scoping out their myspace, and as is often the case, their live vibe/sound was in my opinion better than their recorded tracks, due to the extra energy given off in a good live gig. Other reviews will mention it, so I may as well. The airline apparently lost their gear - so they were wearing clothes given to them by a shop, and playing borrowed instruments - you wouldn't have been able to tell if they hadn't mentioned it though.
After a quick stroll around the village it was then off to bed.
After that it was off to the mainstage to catch All Left Out- again an "I know someone who knows someone in the band" connection (their drummer's sister is married to my older brother). As always, they put on a fantastic high energy show, although the crowd enegery was a little underwhelming. Still, it was a fun set with a lot of songs off their new album (the Conquest- it's good - get it if you like really good quality NZ Christian themed pop punk). Was very impressed by the bass player swinging his instrument not once, but twice round his neck in one go in the middle of "the lights" Before their last song, they did a very brief talky bit about how they as a band are all Christians and that they invite people who aren't to check it out - which being at a Christian festival got a lot of cheers- what impressed me though - was that it was almost the same talk they gave when I saw them in a Christchurch pub a few months ago - it's cool that whether it's a seedy sports bar or a christian festival, their openness about their faith is the same. Much respect.
After All Left Out finished, Joy ( my wife) headed off to the debut stage to see a band her old youth group leader (from 8 years ago) is in, and I hung around mainstage with the guys from Mona Vale Falls and watched Antiskeptic. A lot of sound for a 3 piece, without sounding like everything was backing tracked, which was cool. They certainly know how to rock... great singing (and screaming) voices for what they play - hard rock. Solid amount of energy, and strong guitar drive. The guitarist and the bass player shared the frontman role between them really well.
After they finished, I headed further up into the moshpit space in preparation for Red. I'd listened to the album in store once, and listened to the tracks on their myspace a few times, as well as having browsed a few youtube clips of them playing live. I knew that in my opinion, their album sounds over produced and a little generic, but that I could probably expect a decent live show - I wasn't disappointed. Whilst on a record it gets repetitive if every song has a quiet bit then a heavy bit then a quiet bit then a heavy bit, it is really perfect for moshing- gives a chance to go nuts for 20 seconds then recover you energy. Onstage the band had a lot of energy and certainly know how to perform, with a very theatrical frontman, who honestly comes off as a little creepy— Not helped by the black eye makeup, or his tendency to put his hand near his crotch mid scream. The highlight of their set was the encore, which included their single "breathe into me" which benefitted from the extra energy that comes when the majority of the crowd know the song really well, as well as one song performed just by the singer and one of the guitarists on an acoustic. This song showed off how good a rock voice he has, as well as how if you strip away the generic nu-metal production that leaves everything sounding the same, they can actually write a really good song. Will be interested to see the music that comes out of these guys in the future.
As soon as this finished it was a mad dash to find the obscure location of the White Elephant Stage to see one of the most interesting performers of parachute this year— Half Handed Cloud. This multi instrumentalist from the states is part of the same indie folk/ alternative scene as Sufjan Stevens and Danielson. Made it there in time and was very impressed. Setting up onstage with a floor tom, a snare drum, an omnichord, a miniature keyboard, an acoustic guitar, a banjo, a trombone and a cassette tape player, this one man band put on an amazing, intimate performance. Definitely a highlight. The varying song lengths, bizarre changes and instrumentations and his friendly manner made this a highly enjoyable and entertaining set. Many of his songs referenced odd and obscure parts of the bible (eg walking in backwards to cover up your naked father, and javelins, amongst others). The only disappointing thing was how few people were there, although in a way that was kinda cool, as it gave a peculiar sense of satisfaction to know you had just seen one of the best international acts at parachute ever, and most people weren't even aware of it.
After that it was time to rehydrate ( still hadn't after Red and was feeling very thirsty) then off to the palladium to catch Jonezetta's late night show. Big ups to parachute this year for having two headline acts (Red and Jonezetta) play a late night palladium show on the alternate nights from their mainstage sets. It's great to get two shows from bands that have travelled a long way to get here. Jonezetta's show was tight and polished. The palladium sound was far louder than any of the stages I had been too so far tonight- the bass (frequencies rather than the instrument) were almost overpowering, but that kinda suited their dancey style. They played all the songs I recognised from scoping out their myspace, and as is often the case, their live vibe/sound was in my opinion better than their recorded tracks, due to the extra energy given off in a good live gig. Other reviews will mention it, so I may as well. The airline apparently lost their gear - so they were wearing clothes given to them by a shop, and playing borrowed instruments - you wouldn't have been able to tell if they hadn't mentioned it though.
After a quick stroll around the village it was then off to bed.
Labels: music reviews parachute bands
posted by Jim at 8:12 AM
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