The Null Device

Tonight's Bidston Moss gig was fun. They played a set of almost 1 hour, and played some new songs and some old ones, with the one who isn't Beth whose name escapes me climbing the foldback and rocking out. And they put in (a very gentle version of) the first verse from the Pixies' Debaser in one of their songs (along with the New Order reference in Armadillo), which was cool. And the free bag of lollies at the door was a nice touch.

I only saw them and Mrs. Pinkwhistle, who seemed to have had too much to drink. They horsed around on stage, cracked dick jokes which didn't even make sense, and at one stage couldn't decide which key a song was in. Maybe they're usually better, but I wasn't impressed.

(Funny how some people can drunkenly clown around on stage and pull it off but others can't. Stewart Anderson (of Boyracer and 555 Recordings fame) can (like that gig last year, when he ended up spontaneously helping the drummer out on the kit), but Mrs. Pinkwhistle fell flat. Maybe lay off the free drinks next time, lads.)

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Some pictures from this evening's Bidston Moss gig:

The show was pretty good; sweet yet spiky power-pop, with catchy lyrics and hooks. And they are doing another one sometime in the next few weeks.

I also managed to catch up with BeTh, who sings/plays bass in the band, after their set. She's pretty cool, and has an enviable memory for faces. And, it turns out, she works practically just down the corridor from me. It's one of those ironies that I find this out about a week before she emigrates to warmer climes.

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Tonight's Ninetynine gig was fun. The Process sounds interesting with the Polar Angle drum loop. Their new material is also quite good (the sort of New Order/Stone Roses/Blur-sounding song which keeps changing its name (it was called something like "Look Out For Trams" tonight) is very cool, as is Red Weed (i.e., the one in 15/16 time).)

(The support, Royalchord, were entertaining, in a slightly retro-kitschy tex-mex way, too. If they release an album, they should try to get it out in 8-track format. Even though most people won't have a means of playing 8-tracks, it'd be a pretty doovy collectible/conversation piece.)

Btw, next Friday at the Rob Roy is Ninetynine's last gig in Melbourne before Laura moves (temporarily) back to Perth. By coincidence, the next night at the Tote is the last local gig for local all-girl power popsters Bidston Moss before BeTh moves to her newly-acquired dream home in Queensland.

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I just found out that Beth, the bass player from Bidston Moss, has a blog. And it looks quite nifty too (visually polished and well-written). Love the cat graphics, btw.

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