|
australasia
diy tour circuit |
pic: andrew
watson
limited express (has gone?) ++ makes you dance! tour ++ may 2005
may 13th friday - 2pm-4pm - live on 3cr (small audience required!), melbourne - with vincent over the sink
we meet limited express (has gone?) at melbourne airport - both our planes arriving early. After quick hellos it's back to business as if they never left and we pile ourselves and our bags, equipment and merchandise into a mega taxi and find ourselves 2 hours ahead of schedule at 3cr in collingwood. it gives us chance to chat and catchup and quickly put together a flyer for our friend koji who will be working at the japanese festival on sunday afternoon. several coffees later we head back to the studio and vincent over the sink knock out six of their quirky little numbers in a ten minute sprint live to air. we cram back into the room as limited express (has gone?) set up and soundcheck and with a few technical difficulties rip roar through the last 25 minutes of the burning vinyl show with barely a second to take breath! we pack up and head back to our host's (mark from twitch of the death nerve) place and stockpile food and beer for a lazy evening of laughter and amusement and the creation of the super special ni-hao! cd packages complete with glitter, stars and hearts and a calpis candy! by the end of the night there is glitter everywhere through mark's house.
may 14th
saturday - 8pm - northcote social club, melbourne - supporting the rogers
sisters and love of diagrams
may 14th saturday - 2am - the pony (late show), melbourne - with the
new
despite numerous phone calls and cat's crying we wake up well rested and enjoying the sensational sunshine as we, again, lazily head to the city and wander around cafes and stores. there's a strange tension as i'm sure everyone is thinking about the shows tonight and how important they are. mark takes us up to the northcote social club and we get acquainted with the setup and introduced to everyone, band members, organisers and staff. limited express (has gone?) do a quick soundcheck and make sure everything is perfect. the merchandise table is setup and the doors open - it's great to see a big turn out for a support band - something which has been worrying me about the rogers sisters support slots. it soon becomes obvious that everything will be fine as the band put extra effort into special showtime and the crowd love it. it's a short fast set and everyone is happy. the merchandise stall soon becomes very busy and remains that way through the night except when the bands are playing. love of diagrams, despite worrying about how to follow limited express (has gone?) pull off a nice tight set - the sound in the venue is extremely good. the rogers sisters put on a good show too and the sold out venue is packed with happy punters. the merchandise stall is still busy for limited express (has gone?) even 30 minutes after the gig has finished and we are trying to pack everything up - occassionally having to run to the car to get more cds for people! amazing!
pic: andrew
watson
pic: andrew
watson
may 15th
sunday - 8pm - bar open, melbourne - with the stabs, twitch of the death
nerve and vincent over the sink
everyone stirs themselves slowly and we sort ourselves out with coffee and bread before loading gear out to the car and taking the quick trip to bar open. we're all a little bit disorgansed and not sure how to arrange tonight's show - finally we agree to set gold coin donation as entry. there's people milling about everywhere and suddenly show time arrives starting with vincent over the sink - these guys are so quirkily cool - their tunes are simple, arrangements odd and style bizarre and uncomfortable - just what interests me in a band. i'm so happy that they had this opportunity to play to a bunch more people than they might usually do and nao-san has tweaked a perfect sound for them. twitch of the death nerve and the room is getting packed with just a little space in front of stage which singer dan soon takes the opportunity to stomp around. twitch are awesome in their complex and dynamic structure and dan is more than just a capable frontman - he has a great voice too. things get a little bizarre mid way through the set as dan covers himself in tomato ketchup and mayonnaise and then continues to throw himself around the room - crashing into me one time, i give him a big shove which splatters him across the floor but he gets up without missing a beat and continues on his merry way. needless to say the crowd loved the craziness. next the stabs performed their fucked up aural sonic bliss - they take some standard rock elements and pound them out and the crowd appreciated it greatly. i was kinda distracted trying to organise everything during the stabs set though - hopefully they'll make it up to sydney one day and i can get a proper dose. bar open is now packed to the gills and there is anticipation in the air. after a nice introduction from mark (who really does believe limited express (has gone?) are the greatest band in the world!) they unusually kick off the set with tiger rock and we're treated to yukari bouncing around the stage and floor space and some almost silent subtlety during the bridge section with breathy whispers of tiger rock (supposed a dedication to yukari's favourite baseball team). yukari straps the bass on and here comes special show time in full force with the beginning refrain of aloha! i skip this song on the cd having heard it so many times but there's something new and fresh about it every time they play it live because the band and audience both respond with big smiles and big bounces and everyone is caught up in the moment - from here on out the audience is captivated - totally sucked in to the experience! the band are happy enough to play in front of just a few people but when they have the attention of a couple of hundred people up close and personal they turn into pure magic. i'm anticipating jinichiro craziness during stop>go and beckon him into the crowd and he willingly obliges and i soon get the message he wants to go upwards so i squat down and slowly lift jj up on my shoulders, i do my best to stagger and sway to the rhythm! i get a tap on the head and lower jj down and he hops off perfectly in time with the next section of the song. when the song finishes i remind jinichiro that i'm an old man! the rest of the set maintains the high level of excitement - peaking for me with the new song (possibly titled "ichi ni san shi...") which is rivetting in it's typical limited express (has gone?) madness - i'm in heaven right here! talk to me, all right closes out the set with jinichiro throwing his guitar to the audience and performing his almost trademark windmill jump (it's not like townsend, believe me!). soon the chant of 'we want more is raised' and limited express (has gone?) are happy to oblige for a bassless version of mophin' fellet before finishing off band like with an ass kicking run through free style ridin' - yukari overcome with emotions and happiness runs up to koji behind the kit and falls forward with her bass flailing and the drum are rendered unusable - this is the end - yukari, not sure what's going on, goes off to the side and curls into a ball before being beckoned back to the stage for a final bow! everyone is happy, the room is full of joy. my god - that was special show time all right! it's a couple of hours before we manage to get out - the merchandise has halved already - after two days! jj calls japan later to get more sent out! everyone is energised and it takes me an hour or so to count out all the donation coins while the others load out and make a trip back to mark's with equipment before coming back for us. i was astounded to fin over 500 bucks in donations including a couple of 20 dollar notes! this meant we could pay the support bands a hundred bucks or more! (twitch of the death nerve donating all their share to limited express (has gone?)!) as we're driving away we find some twitch friends outside trying to get their car started - we can't help them but as we're driving away dan appears and races up to the car, dives through the front window and shouts 'aaallllooohhhhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!' much to the amusement of us all! when we get home mark teaches jj some classical spanish guitar - it's great to watch mark showing jinichiro the song and see him struggle to play it (it's pretty complex)! i give in to weariness and fall asleep happy and smiling.
pic: andrew
watson
may 17th
tuesday - 8pm - warehouse, coromandel place, city, adelaide - with paddington
bear affair + more
we got everything packed up and crammed into the taxi for the qirport
- it was a beautiful day in melbourne again and i wish we could have
stayed longer. the management team came back to sydney and limited express
(has gone?) took off on their lonesome but to be met and looked after
by zac - so over to him for the adelaide details. we showed up at the
warehouse at about 7:45 only to find that the resident hippies had changed
the locks on mossy and the bands. in anticipation of limited express
(has gone?) and good night out, quite a few people had come to the venue
early - a pleasant change from the usual adelaidian attitude of being
‘fashionably late’ to the point of missing support acts.
after a couple of very ugly and scary fists fights out the front, we
decided that it would be better to hold the show elsewhere. after briefly
toying with the idea of a carpark show, we eventually piled into our
cars and drove to hindley street and brett & co’s small apartment.
the lounge room was cleared of furniture and miscellaneous debris and
everybody pitched in to set up amps and drums against 3 sides of the
cramped room. with much help from the housemates, we managed to collect
about $50 worth of donations before the bands had even started. the
bands kept their sets short so that it could all be over before midnight
and the neighbours could get some sleep. the paddington bear affair
kicked off proceedings with a short, noisy, and pretty messy set that
got the crowd into a party mood. next up was apes of god, which was
supposed to be a solo project. alaptop provided pre-programmed music
(dance-y 80s new-wave stuff), with emmett singing over the top. others
joined in the fun, playing instruments (not plugged in) and dressed
in bank robber attire (with stockings and orange bags over their faces).
next up was my sister the cop – fun, tight and rocky as always,
despite the unusual conditions. the final of the support bands was i’m
gonna fucking kill you who had been practicing in the lounge room prior
to our arrival. they played some sort of rocky hardcore and i was very
impressed with this being only their second or third show. they made
sure everyone in the room got a free, individually titled demo cd-r.
finally, it was time for limited express (has gone?) to take the stage.
the trio had been watching the supports quietly from down the hall but
burst into life in front of the crowd. due to a lack of microphone stands
(the previous band having to duct tape a microphone to a door frame)
lehg chose to play a bass-less set but they still sounded amazing. while
the support bands seemed unable to get a nice clear mix after hurriedly
getting themselves and their instruments organised, the simplicity allowed
by a guitar/vocals/drums combo meant that limited express (has gone?)
were definitely the best sounding band on the night. the room full of
onlookers were extremely appreciative between songs and looked to be
enjoying themselves immensely during limited express’ short set,
which consisted of tiger rock, mophin’ fellet and a cover (though
I couldn’t pick it). lehg also looked to be having a lot of fun,
with yukari singing amidst the crowd and jj surfing on top of the kick
drum. the shortness of the set left the crowd wanting more and they
were promised that much more music and fun would be had at the grace
emily. perhaps only 30 or 40 people came (more would have arrived had
they known about the change of address) but everybody in attendance
had a great time. after the show, lots of people thanked the band, many
perused the small merch desk, and others just buzzed with amazement
and excitement after what they had just witnessed. It was a good taste
of adelaide punk rock and definitely an interesting first night for
limited express (has gone?).
may 18th
wednesday - 8pm - grace emily hotel, adelaide - supporting the rogers
sisters and love of diagrams
no real details except there was about 70-80 at the show, limited express
(has gone?) had a good time and they told me love of diagrams played
really well this night
may 19th
thursday - 8pm - annandale hotel, sydney - supporting the rogers sisters
and love of diagrams
picked the band up from the airport eventually and sydney traffic dictated
it would take us an hour to get home. we sorted merchandise and ate
and rested in preparation. tonight was an important show for me as i'd
been pimping the hell out of the band and wanted people to feel the
excitement and energy that i feel when seeing limited express (has gone?)
we got to the annadale hotel at about 7pm and went thru the usual soundchecks
and setting up merchandise. was cool to sell some merch even before
any bands had played too! limited express (has gone?) hit the stage
just before nine and played a fantastic set to a three quarters full
annandale crowd - not too bad a turnout for a thursday night support
band i guess though i'd been hoping for more - many of the people had
come just to see them though which was heartening. jj took a couple
of jumps off the stage and yukari took the mic and stand to all corners
during mophin fellet. spy crowned off another great performance and
the merch stall was flooded with people wanting cds, t-shirts and information
- the band so happy to talk with people and sign cds. the stall only
quietened down when love of diagrams took to the stage and played another
great set of tunes - during their set i was reminded of what a great
drummer monika is and overall they had a really good sound tonight.
the rogers sisters played another good set that didn't quite click for
me but had the crowd happy and shouting for more. after they finished
the merch stall got busy for limited express (has gone?) cds and we're
hoping that all those happy people will come again tomorrow night and
bring all their friends. we finally leave and when we make it home we
eat and work out all the money taken and it looks like we might just
break even.
we need a picture here - does anyone out there have one from this show?
may
20th friday - 9pm - mandarin club, sydney - midnight special! (now with
naked on the vague onstage at 11pm)
we all surfaced late and chilled out. we took to the streets at the absolute worst time traffic wise and by the time we made the city i was mad as hell and the band were getting nauseous with my erratic driving - we loaded the gear into the mandarin club, with the fine help of the pure evil trio who were lending their equipment for the night and i spent the next 20 minutes looking for somewhere to park only to have a parking meter swallow my money for nothing in return! at least things could only get better! the band ran through soundcheck quickly as chief soundman tobey had to dash off to another venue to play a show. we headed off for food and relaxation before getting back to the club at about 10 or 10.30 just as more people were coming through the door. the mandarin club room on level 4 is pretty spacious and i'm not sure how many people were there but naked on the vague had done some table rearranging earlier to help push interested spectators closer to the stage and as they played their short 20 minute set there were a few people up close and i think everyone else paying attention pretty much. naked on the vague is matthew from vincent over the sink playing bass and lucy on keyboards and most of the vocal duties. while i prefer the quirkier tunes of vincent this band was pretty great too - it's kinda fucked up new wave - almost no-wave. i want to see more of this band. we had a shortish break in which time more people came in and the merch stall got busy. limited express (has gone?) took the stage at around 1am in the end and there were many people here ready for special show time! and they certainly got a show! the sound was a little ropey in places due to the small pa (no fault of tobey's) but that didn't detract from the power and energy of an up close and personal experience - in which jj decided once again it would be a good idea to get on my shoulders during one song. the crowd seemed into it and when the set finished there were shouts for more but the dj's took over after a brief silence. i went to man the merch stall but as i sat down the dj's stopped and it looked like an encore was coming - we got a bassless mophin' fellet, crowned off with a full band free style riding. i desperately wanted them to come back for more but the band felt the energy was spent so sydney - you missed out on the limited express (has gone?) version of bad brains 'i against i'. when i told my friend this he promised to drive to newcastle on sunday to see it! people partied on some more to the dj's and most everyone picked up some merchandise on their way out during the night. unfortunately for us and our tired bodies this meant we had to stay til the 3am finish knowing we had to get up at 8am to get to the airport for limited express (has gone?) to fly to brisbane in the morning. not to worry though - everyone was pumped and happy and excited. load out, drive home and once again i went straight to sleep as the band refuelled and koji watched ping pong club!
may 21st
saturday - 8pm - the rev, brisbane - supporting the rogers sisters and
love of diagrams
had to get up after a few hours sleep to get to the airport for the band to fly to brisbane and into the hands of their brisbane contact kirk. by all accounts brisbane was another blistering show with the merchandise being decimated and promises of fans driving down to newcastle for the final show.
may 22nd sunday
- 8pm - gateway hotel, newcastle - supporting my disco, with naked on
the vague and poland
back to the airport to pick up limited express (has gone?) and round to a friends house for a BBQ supposedly with the rogers sisters and popfrenzy peeps in tow. we had to leave before they got there though but everyone felt good and happy eating a traditional aussie outdoor lunch under a cloudless bright blue sky. so, replenished, we headed off to newcastle and by the time we got there it was dark with loud snoring coming from the back of the car. eventually we found the gateway hotel and loaded things in and organised equipment etc. the room is really used as a discotheque and we couldn't figure out a way to get good light onto the stage so it was pulsating lights and mirror balls for all the bands! poland and naked on the vague played short sets to a small but appreciative audience. the brisbane crew rocked up as promised and limited express (has gone?) played an energetic and destructive set to cap off the tour. the sound wasn't great but everyone enjoyed the chaotic energy of jj and yukari with koji getting up off his drumseat quite a few times too. my disco finished off the night with their excellent june of 44-ish hard post rock sounds. we hung around chatting with various members of various bands and sold merchandise in a steady flow until the pub kicked us out. thankfully there was little traffic on the way back to sydney and we got home at about 1.30 which meant i could get about 5 hours of sleep before going to work in the morning.
