IVY LEAGUE FBi FUNDRAISER feat. THE MESS HALL + RED RIDERS + CLOUD CONTROL – The Gaelic Club (25.6.09)


Personally my favourite of all the “Save FBi” gigs this month, The Ivy League brought quite a few amazing acts out of the closet, freshly dusted, to perform for us tonight.

Arriving just in time to catch the end of crowd-pleasers Cabins, I once again found myself thoroughly enjoying their set, and was heartily disappointed to have only heard the final track. Ah well, next time. Next time.

Cloud Control followed, in what was their first live appearance in Sydney in quite some time. The last time I saw them would have been at Supergrass late last year, during which time they were still playing tracks off their self-titled EP. At the time I noted I was ready for some new material – and low and behold, it has finally arrived! It’s still got quite a bit of polishing up to do, but it’s sounded fantastic, and they definitely performed the best set of the night. Their older material, which made up the later part of their performance, was clearly the more polished, and was a joy to hear live again. I’ve got to say, “In Your World” sounded particularly more flair-full (is that a word?) than usual. They’ve been spicing the tracks up a bit I think! And I like!

Red Riders showed off not only new material, but their new lineup too, which includes The Vines’ Brad Heald on guitar. It would be fair to say he’s always been a fairly boring instrumentalist, but he gets the job done, and no doubt has added some new fire to the band, ahead of their new album “Drown In Colour”. The first single off the LP, “You gotta lot of nerve” was easily the highlight of their performance. High on both the catchy and energy factors, it should definitely have you all excited about the new album. But, and I think I’m not alone here, I must digress: I much prefer Alexander Grigg’s other project, Straight Arrows. DO check them out.

Finally, everyone’s favourite Australian two-piece, The Mess Hall. And if they’re not your favourite they should be – I reckon they’re the best musicians mainstream Australian rock has seen in years. And they give The White Stripes a massive run for their money. They know how to get a crowd pumping with raw, often unexpected power. And furthermore, they know how to make unbelievably catchy songs. Tracks like “Pills” and “Keep Walking” will stay with you long after a set.

While a new song or 2 was splattered around the set, it was definitely the tracks of Devil’s Elbow that shined. And with Jed and Cec staying out of those hot stage lights for a long while now, there was certainly no harm in that. I was frothing at the mouth to hear anything they had to offer, and they didn’t disappoint. Although I would have very much liked to have heard “Pills” if I have to make one small gripe!

Welcome back to you all – now bring on the new albums!

Larry Heath

Founding Editor and Publisher of the AU review. Currently based in Toronto, Canada. You can follow him on Twitter @larry_heath or on Instagram @larryheath.