Arriving somewhere in the midst of Hey Mook's set, I was both eager and excited for what was coming up. This marked the first (and last !?) time I would see the Bad Luck Charms perform live. Unless I've misjudged things, BLC have achieved somewhat of a 'legendary' status locally, and the crowd both inside and outside the Brisbane certainly confirmed as such. Hey Mook did their alt-folk-rock thing, and they did it well; their live act sounding both confident and well-rehearsed. As a newcomer to Hey Mook, I found them very warm and inviting: rock music my Dad would like. Sharing vocal duties three ways, Hey Mook's portfolio sounded varied, and the Community compilation track 'Southerly Buster', the only one I'd heard before the night, sounded great live. Thoroughly impressed, I moved forwards to take a good spot for BLC.
Positioned in the left-most corner beside the PA (and subsequently Lisa and her bass, lucky me!), the Bad Luck Charms took to the stage and jumped right into 'Frank Daft/The McDonald Sisters'. The crowd grew as Lisa Rime, Matt Moller and Julian Teakle ran through each song, and its pretty difficult to fault such a set when every song is as listenable as a Bad Luck Charms song. Dancing ensured; the audience sung along to the bands' tales of suburban poetry. 'The Eastern Shore' proved to be a crowd favourite: every indie kid and his pal seemed to be reciting Julian's words. The band played superbly and sounded like a fine-tuned unit, which was impressive for their first gig in two and a bit years. I should probably mention that this one-off show was in recognition of their brand new Live at the Brisbane Hotel album, which itself is a recording of their 'farewell' show back in September of 2007. The CD is a wonderful recording in itself, and represents BLC at their peak, but live in the flesh was just such a high-energy event, for me personally. I couldn't stop moving, to the point in which a video I recorded looks ADHD as a result:
Their whole set was impressive, each member putting everything they had into the show. Thirteen songs later - my personal favourites including 'Rice & Poetry', 'The Eastern Shore' and 'Rut' - it was finished. Filled with songs about Hobartian social life, simple stories of personal circumstance and the gulf between the Melbourne and Hobart music scenes, the Bad Luck Charms leave behind a legacy of success, potential and a celebration of local music. They are (or inevitably will be) an important figure in 21st century Hobart rock history, but lets not keep looking back too much. The future looks just as bright.
I grabbed Lisa's setlist (I'm such a fangirl) and a live CD as a memento of the evening, which I'm happy to say is the greatest night I've experienced at the Brisbane Hotel. A fine night indeed.
I'd recommend buying the live album if you haven't already picked it up, its a good quality recording and I was happy to see the inclusion of 'Fever' and the Peter Escott-cameo 'Twenty Steps To Paradise' on the disc. Lovely Simon James artwork too. If you want me to upload a video of their final song, 'Chigwell Is Burning' (a lovely tune!), just leave us a comment. Thanks for reading! I'll leave you with a few more photos from Elizabeth Clark. Enjoy!
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