The Boat People + The Hello Morning + [ME] – Newtown Workers Club (26.03.10)

the-boat-people-soporific

It was a steamy Friday night in The Workers band room. Sweat seemed to be dripping off the ceiling as first act for the evening The Hello Morning took to the stage. The little known Melbournians played a standard pub rock set with an alt country twist. Musically, this band knows how to play and craft a catchy tune, however they lacked any onstage presence, with the resulting set rather bland.

Next up were another local act called [Me]. In stark contrast to The Hello Morning, [Me] were a theatrical marvel, with a massive haunting sound that wouldn’t be out of a place on a Tim Burton soundtrack. [Me] were hugely entertaining, with clever arrangements that included some heavy keyboard work and a violinist. These boys owned the stage and seemed to really enjoy themselves as they danced around, swapping instruments, giving the performance their all. James O’Brien from The Boat People did a guest vocal spot on their last track for the evening, which turned into a mad onstage party that was very enjoyable to watch. [Me] are like a well dressed Australian version of Muse. Keep an eye out for upcoming shows in the future.

Due to a late start and a noise curfew at The Workers Club, The Boat People took to the stage and ploughed through a fantastic thirty minute set, launching straight into their opening track “Antidote” with only a quick hello to the many fans who had gathered for the Soporific single launch. Soporific is the second single to be released from their forthcoming third album Dear Darkly and its unadulterated pop bliss.

The material the boys showcased from Dear Darkly was well received and has a slightly harder edge, with more keyboard action than their older music. The Boaties pleased fans with ripper renditions of “Echo Stick Guitars”, “Awkward Orchid Orchard”, “Under The Ocean” and a personal favourite of mine “Clean” from their debut record YesYesYesYesYes.

As always, The Boat People put on a cracking show, performing with mad energy and passion. The boys are now split with half the band located in Melbourne and the other half still in their hometown Brisbane, but in spite of the logistical nightmare, their new music is amazing and their live show fun, energetic and obscenely enjoyable. The only disappointment of the evening was the boys being banned from doing an encore due to the strict curfew imposed by the venue. Well done Boaties. It’s always a pleasure. We look forward to the album launch soon.