Thee Moths, Lipsick, GRNR and Germlin at the Beat Bar, 8th August 2004

The original thread I put this in got deleted

Thee Moths, Lipsick, GRNR and Germlin at the Beat Bar, 8th August 2004

Thee Alex played tonight to a crowd of five plus bands, in a circle of fairy lights, with a laptop as his only instrument. The setup would have been quaint, but for the pervading sense of karaoke. I've seen laptops used incredibly well in a live setting, but in this case there was a horrible mp3-sans-vocal feel to the set. Alex writes some decent songs but they should be kept strictly lo-fi. Also, his on-stage persona did him no favours. Some people can pull off the "I can't be arsed with this" rock n roll attitude, but Thee Alex most certainly can not. Especially when he books the gigs he is playing at.

Alex was on stage again next as one half of the keyboardpop duo Lipsick. His bandmate Kirstin is a supremely talented young woman, lurking just behind the mistimed noise of their live performances is always a hint of real songwriting prowess. But first, the noise. I know it's not really the done thing in the scottish music scene, but a little professionalism goes a long way. Far be it from me to dictate how a band should act, but might I suggest learning the songs before playing them live? Perhaps writing a set list? Maybe sound checking? But these are merely asides to the real problem with this band. I'm sorry to have to single out someone twice in one review, but I personally feel that Alex lets down Kirstin in a big way (tonight even more so than usual). This is a man in serious need of a sense of decorum. Kirstin is the main songwriting talent in this band, but to see them live would suggest otherwise. Alex spent the entire set with his microphone an order of magnitude louder than Kirstin's (his supposedly backing vocals veering dangerously towards line-on-line-off frequency), and bouncing around stage like an adult making an insulting impression of a hyperactive 12 year old. Scarily, that was more statement than simile. He also did all the between-song bantering, which along with some of the mistakes was probably down to Kirstin's nervousness, but he was a little too keen in my opinion. Like I said earlier, there is genuine talent in this band. Songs such as "Swimming" and "Look, Panic, End!" display a little of the massive potential inherent in this duo. The almost perfect pop sensibilities fuse with some of the best lyrics I have heard from a local band to create what could be wonderful, timeless songs. However, I feel that Kirstin needs to take more of a lead, and Alex desperately needs to learn to take a back seat once in a while.

By this point in the night, the crowd had dwindled to two people plus half the bands. The heat from all the bodies was beginning to stifle me, so please forgive any inaccuracies from this point on. I was dehydrated and mirages had begun to appear...

I hadn't seen the next two bands before and neither introduced themselves (presumably because I was the only person there who didn't know them personally), so I will have to presume they played in the order advertised. Which means GRNR was up next. Like Thee Alex earlier, he performed with only a laptop, although his set was mostly instrumental, and seemed to take the "instrument" part a little more seriously than Alex. Musically, this was a refreshing change from the normal Dundee live music scene - airy, danceable electronica in the vein of "Idioteque" by Radiohead (Apologies to GRNR if you feel this description doesn't do you justice). This was a thoroughly enjoyable performance up until his laptop crashed, when it all seemed to unravel and I got the impression he couldn't be bothered to finish the set properly. All in all I was very impressed, if anyone has contact info or knows where I can get a cd, please let me know.

After GRNR finished, I presumed the show was over and went to the bar upstairs. Imagine my surprise when I came down twenty minutes later and saw this scene - four people dancing around a laptop, one person sitting in a corner, and one very pissed off barman. Was this Germlin's set, or were you abusing the hospitality of the Beat Bar?

At the end of the night Alex remarked to me that this was "another great gig that lots of people missed out on". On reflection I do agree, but it wasn't exactly scene apathy that kept the people away tonight! Here's a hint - try advertising. With his vast experience in the music industry, you'd think Alex would have figured it out by now.