Jinja Safari Debut Headline Show

Spectrum 9/7/2010

Opening to the punctual kids, Lincoln Davis hummed folk niceties, neither attention-grabbing nor uninteresting but somewhere in between. His sharp classical guitar fretwork was notably commendable; his bizarre heavy metal moan/growl at the end of song Life was not.

Recently signed to Ivy League, Justin Wonsley Snowball aka Wons Phreely has taken to the road to share his enjoyable ‘good times’ music. Tracks like The World Has a Bank Account showed the group’s indie-pop prowess with its perky melody and witty lyrics. With a pocketful of charm and a handful of lollies, Wons won us over.

In the space of 5 months, cyclone Jinja has left a destructive path of fan adoration and industry attention. We’ve seen the birth and boom of Jinja Safari, their tumultuous live shows, the deserved winning of a spot opening Splendour in the Grass (cue euphoric screaming and hyper ventilating) and now this- their first headline show.

Bounding on stage with customary pep and exuberance, the venue now filled with a crowd braced for dancing, Hiccups’ frantic percussion and delectable melody ignited the sweaty celebrations. Picture this: a throng of animal-disguised, Jinja-crazed ruffians transformed into one gyrating motion of hip-shaking, hand-raising and feet-stomping. Beautiful, isn’t it?

Pepa Knight’s glorious sitar interlude beckoned the dreamy musical chimings of Peter Pan. Normally reserved for more established bands, the sing-along from the audience was remarkable; testament to the tunes lyrical irresistibility. The song delicately unwinds into the harmonies of “giant mysterious swell that rolls over the treetops it will sway” and the hypnotised crowd is left hazy, as if awakening from some magical musically-induced coma.

Following this was the playful pop-romp, Families complete with encouraged ‘ugly dancing’. Percussionist Alister Roach showed how it was done, bursting with untamed ferocity between djembe-jams (did you know that the djembe drum in its native tongue means ‘everyone gather together’? Incredibly fitting for a song titled Families don’t you think? Jinja Safari, uniting people since 2010.)

The band closed with two of their most explosive tracks, Forest Eyes (imagine Paul Simon and Ezra Koenig collaborating, and then imagine it being outdone by this beguiling wonder tune) and Mermaid; a song regarding the pains of unrequited love with these mythical sea babes. Both numbers spurred uncontrollable fits of ecstasy, both on and offstage. A suitable finish to a vigorous (vigorous is an understatement, lets just say if these guys were in the Olympics I’d check them for steroid use) and flawless performance.

No encore was met by a mixed response; personally I wished the show could have continued into the wee hours of forever but my aching body, teetering on the edge of exhaustion, welcomed the end with open arms.

Jinja Safari has a strange effect on me- with every listen, my thirst is left unsatisfied. However this is not due to a substandard performance but rather my appetite for their lavish joy-jives continuing to grow into an unquenchable monster. It’s a curse Jinja will have to live with but will inherently lead to their total and utter domination of the musical world’s brain space, playlists and airwaves. And if you think this sounds hyped, come to their next show and tell me otherwise.

Set-list

Hiccups

Mud

Peter Pan

Families

Vagabond

Moonshine

Forest Eyes

Mermaid

Cloud Control Bliss Release Tour, Annandale Hotel 25/6/2010

Ten years on and the Annandale continues to champion local talent, showcasing some of Sydney’s finest bands. As apart of the iconic venue’s 10th birthday celebrations Cloud Control served up a jovial romp with a side of delight. And we all had seconds.

First up Jinja Safari spoilt us with their lavish melodies and intricate afro-beats. Live these guys are the embodiment of energy and fun with their ‘ugly dancing’ and bizarre animal noise harmonies. Mr. Safari, please give us an EP or album soon so I can listen to you on repeat, infinitely. Regards, Jinja zealot.

Synth laden three-piece We Say Bamboulée create remarkably original and entertaining bites of helium-pop. A highlight of the night was their song Party Punch, a triumphant number that held its audience in Hitchcock-like suspense, building and building, drummer Russell Fitzgibbon’s eyes rolling further back into his head before culminating in glorious synchronised jumping. Truly grand.

Kyu returned to the live music scene with an unfortunately disjointed set, still shaking off the recent sabbatical and suffering from some sound difficulties. The band’s sound is a mix of messy, experimental folktronica and some finely layered vocals. I wasn’t that into it and was consequently chastised by my friends who likened them to Bjork and Fever Ray. Their closing number showed the band at their most animated with tribal bellowing, looping tings of a xylophone and distorted rainforest noises.

For a long time now Cloud Control has been slowly simmering, marinating in their own genius. I mean, when you look at the quality on their self-titled EP their inevitable success was never a question of if but only a question of when.

They bound onstage as playful as usual; the friendly faces you know so well but have never met. Jeremy Kelshaw (bassist) still attempts uncomfortable banter, Vintage Books still gets a raucous response and the band still plays with a peppy eagerness tantamount to Cloud Control of old. But the band is significantly different.

Opening with There’s Nothing In The Water We Can’t Fight, the refinement is ridiculously obvious. The band is tighter, tidier, trimmed, cleaned, cropped cut and in their element. This Is What I Said reminds us of the deadly amount of crowd-pleasing tracks the band now has to call from (see set-list, and then for further reference see tracks omitted from set-list).

Cloud Control gave a generous and almost perfect set-list (is anyone else crushed over the absence of Into the Line from recent shows?) with some unexpected charmers sneaking through such as In Your World and Beast of Love. When Alister Wright’s (Guitar and Vocals) stunning falsetto sings “You were all I needed/You are all I need still” the crowd is completely transfixed. Heidi Lenffer (Keyboard and Vocals.) announced that “this next song is for Triple J listeners” to which the hum of Gold Canary began, as did the sing-along.

Encoring with Ghost Story, its rolling drums and echoed vocals stirred hand-clapping and seeing who could sing ‘I felt the hair on the back of my neck stand up’ the loudest. A deceptive interlude almost had us fooled, but when the familiar intro to Death Cloud began, rapturous smiles were prevalent. Cloud Control delivered a lucid tapestry of folk perfections; it’s no wonder why we’ve fallen so hard for them when they perform this brilliantly.

Set-list
There’s Nothing In The Water We Can’t Fight
This Is What I Said
Vintage Books
The Rolling Stone
In Your World
Meditation Song #2 (Why, Oh Why)
My Fear #2
Beast Of Love
Gold Canary
Buffalo Country

Encore
Ghost Story
Death Cloud

Miami Horror Moon Theory Tour, Manning Bar 12/6/2010

Miami Horror
Last Dinosaurs
Jinja Safari

Manning Bar
12/6/2010

Miami Horror have perfected the art of 80’s revisited dance infections, crafting numbers that burrow so far into your skull that the only cure is to dance yourself into a frenzy (picture one of those animated clouds of fury where two characters are fighting, except instead of fighting they’re busting some sweet moves). This is no different live with the band/DJ/producer/etc delivering a fluent translation of their synthed-up power-pop mastery.

Local 3-month old baby-band, Jinja Safari were the sports bra of support acts. Their unique brand of sitar-wielding, smile-inducing, ‘forest rock’ was so affable that it hurt. This might sound hyped/dramatic but it seems that this band is poised to take over the world, one dynamic and engaging performance at a time. Is it reasonable to ask a support act for an encore?

Brisbane band Last Dinosaurs make enjoyable pop-rock goodness. Imagine a tropical Red Riders and you’re on the right track. It sounded fairly samey though, bordering on indie-banality. In saying that stand out tracks Alps and Honolulu really hit the spot. If you were to blend those bad boys down you’d be drinking pure liquid wonderment.

In November last year Miami Horror played at OAF where the atmosphere felt more like a joyous house party rather then a concert. 6 months later and the band has kept the frivolity but fused it with a refinement that only comes from experience.

Don’t be on with her got even the too-cool hipsters dancing early with its lavish space melodies and video-game guitar riffs. They continued to showcase new songs for the eagerly awaited debut album, hinting at a drift towards more sharp, electric soundscapes.

Crowd-pleaser Make You Mine cast its contagious dance spell on feverent ears. Co-front man Josh Moriarty sung “baby, you’ve got me feeling it in my feet, you’ve got me dancing” and he wasn’t lying; boy can he cut some moves! Discoesq Moon Theory had a Girl and the Sea feel to it, with its slower rhythm and shimmering synthesisers.

The set seemed to plateau into a series of giant dance jams and impromptu guitar solos. It failed to retain the intensity of previous songs, but maybe people were just tired.

Sometimes people dance to songs. Sometimes people dance really hard to songs with a zeal only held by pill-poppers. Sometimes, bands like Miami Horror play dance-anthem Sometimes and everyone loses their minds. The entire Manning Bar morphed into one pulsing body; a tangle of fist-pumping and glute-shaking.

Reappearing onstage, the band mused on the pointlessness of encores yet followed this with an explosive Summerfest ’86. Amps and drum kits became playground equipment in a volatile frenzy of fun. The closing show for the Moon Theory tour was a treat of dance delicacies that left a reviewer sore, sweaty but enthused.