The Workers Club was looking very festive Saturday night for The Demon Parade Christmas Bash. Decked out ceiling to floor in Christmas lights and tinsel like a cheap seasonal hooker, the band room was feeling very cosy and sweet for friends and fans of The Demon Parade, as they celebrated the band’s massive year.
Dirt Farmer kicked it off, and were the perfect way to set the tone for the night. If you still haven’t seen this band, you are strongly urged to check them out soon. Crisp, bluesy guitars teamed with singer Stuart Barlow’s Lou Reed meets Tom Verlaine voice make for a very cool sound. Each song is a tenner for this band, and they fittingly finished off their set with ‘The Party Song’, a Brian Jonestown Massacre-sque romp just made to get down to, and get down to it the crowd did.
When The Kicks started playing, people were just starting to impatiently wait at the bar for the Xmas pressie free beer tab to begin, and a very malnourished looking Santa came out of hibernation for the Summer, bearing a sack of goodies for those who hadn’t been naughty. It should be noted that towards the end of the night, even Santa himself was being quite naughty. It was tricky to watch The Kicks while the cheapskates keenly pacing back and forth between the two bars awaiting the sweet frothy goodness that was to come, but after what seemed like a lifetime, singer Neige Koppes announced that the tab had begun and everyone was finally set to check out the band. The Kicks are a fun party band, though they were different to what you’d expect amongst the other bands playing. Neige had a wicked intense voice, reminiscent of PJ Harvey, which sounded almost out of place (but cool nonetheless) alongside sister O’s psych-infused guitar styling. They walked a tightrope to cover The Stooges’ ‘I Wanna Be Your Dog’, but you can hardly hold that against them – it’s a tricky task but they had the room pumping their fists in the air.
Something that is perhaps even more important in an artist than the actual sound of their music, is the connection that they make with their art, and their ability to communicate through it. Jimmy Hawk is no doubt very gifted in this area. One of the more sincere artists you’ll probably ever see, Jimmy comes across as a very sensitive and intelligent person. It’s easy to get lost in his songs, which are all extremely thoughtful. His set unfolded like a good book, and once it was over, you were left feeling hungry for the sequel.
After a brief beer break, the band of the night was ready to take the stage and drive the beast home. Lead by a very debonair Michael Badger, this parade of demons weren’t too vicious. It’s futile to try to describe what this band sounds like in a way that hasn’t been said in any of their other millions of reviews, and while many of you may have seen them before, you can answer that question for yourself. This band’s strength is in their live performances, which is unquestionably intense. Definitely a ‘Chameleon’, Badger may think that his music never sounds quite like him, but all genres aside, he wears his personality on his sleeve when he performs. His connection with his art, like Jimmy’s, is undoubtedly a strong one, though perhaps needs to be seen a few times to fully appreciate and understand. Treating the audience to new song ‘To The Mountain’ (as well as reasonably new song ‘Chameleon’), the boys rocked out for a solid 45 minutes and provided the epic soundtrack to a very, ahem, ‘hard partying’ night. Finishing on their EP’s hypnotic title track ‘God Said it’s Legal’, the audience who had managed to survive this far were left mesmerised, and excited about forthcoming shows in 2011.
Ella Jackson
Check out their ‘Do You Believe In Hell’ Video:
