Holy Balm knows how to
bring the party; they know how to start it, keep it going, and when the sun
finally rises, they know how to end it. Unlike jazz musicians - who can improvise
for hours and will usually sound decent – musicians who rely on electronics
and a reliable sound system have a whole lot more on their plate. Holy Balm can
some nights be the greatest band on earth, or ear-wrenchingly bad. Most people
I know have often said the Locksmith show supporting Pink Reason was a
highlight. But tonight might have been one of their crowning live moments. 

Not
as harsh as the early days, HB have become something of an avant-garde dance
party. Taking nods to krautrock, industrial, repetition and disco, the group
create a head-bopping onslaught of vintage organ, synth and two-piece drum kit
sounds, with soothing incoherent vocals. Final song, dubbed “The Phone Call Song”, is a twelve-minute plus work out, which has Anna John join in on vocals with lead
vocalist/percussionist Emma Ramsay and Yoni Hochman (keyboard/synth/etc), getting locked into an infectious groove that you hoped wouldn’t end. Hopefully, this forthcoming and hotly anticipated seven-inch release will be able to cram
enough of the goodness into a four and a half minute side.

Boredoms
have
always been about transformation and evolution, from their early ferocious live
shows and bizarre records like
Pop Tarti
and
Chocolate Synthesizer, they seemed
to specialise in a violent, almost hardcore form of
Mothers Of Invention
-style
experiments. Travel down a few years later to their
Super ae 
release and
you’ve got a band containing all that primal energy in lengthy jams and
Buddhist chants in a krautrock glad wrap. It's one of the most memorable
records of the nineties, and couldn’t be more different to their previous work.
The rhythms, electronics, and all around dance/DJ vibe went extreme with

Vision Creation Newsun
, and ever since then Boredoms have become
something of a highly spiritual trance band. Go even further down the timeline
and you have the world-renowned '77 Boadrum' event that took place in New York
City, underneath Brooklyn Bridge, and featured 77 drummers. 

Tonight, Sydney was
in for a smaller amount of drummers, but nothing short on astonishment, and a
night or few days of ringing ears. Starting off with a full band unison-crash
of the cymbals, the six drummers produced a sound that nearly tore the roof off
the fucking metro. Then from behind the crowd to the left, legendary Boredoms and
prolific drummer, “Yojiro”, was lifted on some sort of royal-platform (a Omikoshi) and carried
to the stage whilst playing some remarkable drum solos. Everyone remained on
the cymbals until Boredom's leader, “Eye”, let out a chaotic yelp, and struck a
wall of guitars with his mighty staff, and let out a distorted wave of melodic
feedback (are you still with me?). From then on, the set weaved in and out
of well-rehearsed drums, guitar solos, electronic treatments, and insane vocal
achievements that were probably only capable of one other person: Mike Patton. 

It's difficult to compare and single out individual moments as it was more or
less two hours of straight music, with one five minute break and a twenty minute
encore. Key moments might have been the second song which was a full-blown
funk/punk song, which had drummer/vocalist Yoshimi and Eye singing together
screaming “one love”. She also went crazy on an electronic drum sampler. Other
memorable moments were their gigantic rendition of the opening song from

Chocolate Synthesizer, “Acid Police”, which more or less tore the house down.
Everything else, as far as I knew, was new material bar a few notable riffs. 

This was experimental music at its best, and most enjoyable. At times it was
so overwhelming that it wasn’t even challenging. The band finished the set with
a lengthy encore which sounded like a Japanese zen garden with
drums/electronics making sounds of dripping water, tapping bamboo, and God knows
what else. Apart from a few issues with the vocals (I cant even imagine the
difficulties of mixing such a band), this could have been one of the best gigs
of the year. If you missed it, well it could have been your only chance, as it
might take another sixteen years for this legendary band to return. 

Photos:
Del Lumanta