An interesting night last night. Â Confronted by one of the most upsetting sound you can come across at 8pm last night - the sound that the act you paid $50 to see is actually playing first instead of last and you've missed the first 10 minutes of the set. Â Not surte if it caught many others out, but the lineup on the Unsound Festival actually proceeded in the order listed on the site rather than what I expected which was the opposite.
Anyway, I walked into the Queens Theatre (the oldest remaining theatre on the Australian mainland) to see Lustmord on stage doing his dark ambient thing with a huge video screen behind him. Â The visuals were excellent - and lot of fire and occult symobology as well as some 3D renderings from fellow Tool collaborator Meats Meier. Â It was a good show, it's nice to be able to hear this kjind of music on a big speaker setup rather than my home stereo, and at times the bass was really rumbling throughout the building. Â My only criticism was that like many of these type of ambient shows, there's nothing that really suggest Brian was doing anything other than just pressing play on a FLAC loaded on his laptop - there was no other instruments at play, and to be honest the songs sounded identical to what I remember from the albums. Â The crowd seemed pretty appreciative though, and I noticed that numbers thinned a little after he'd completed his set.
Which was shame for some, as the next act Demdike Stare were excellent. Â Accompanied by an 8-piece "quartet" these two guys created a fantastic mix of trippy electronica combined with strings. Â A range of excellent visuals accompanied the set as well which was a definite highlight for me.
Next up was electro glitch/dub act Pole, who to be honest I found disappointing. Â The music wasn't really my thing, and despite the video on the website suggesting otherwise, there was no multimedia aspect to this set. Â Just a black curtain and a dude standing behind a mixing desk. Â There was another gig I'd been invited to that night, and it was less than 100m away, so I decided to check that out instead.
The Mad Mouse Alley is a brand new venue and this evenings entertainment was a fund raiser to try and establish it. Â The lineup tonight was a mix of rock, punk and a little black metal. Â After saying hi to Liz, the first band I saw crusty black metallers Funeral Moon. Â They were better this time around than when I've seen them previously, though it seemed like a technical issue brought and abrupt end to their set.
God God Dammit Dammit were up next with their mix of heavy rock and funk. Â They're an interesting act, have a great singer, however while they bring a breath of fresh air to the scene, the music they offer seems a little formulaic. Â A toilet break was on the agenda, and this venue seems to only have one, so rather than wait in line to 10 minutes I thought I might walk back to the Unsound Festival, check out the final act Ben Frost and then us their toilets. Â Ben Frost wasn't really my thing, though he was actually playing real instruments which was a positive. Â I knew Hydromedusa were coming up back in the alley, so I didn't hang around to see much of his set.
Hydromedusa are a local stoner rock band, and while they don't necessarily sound that great recorded, they are fantastic live.  They played a shortish set (I think there was a time restriction and it was after midnight at this point) but it was a high quality one.  Both guitar players in the band are very talented, and the rest of the band aren't too bad either.  The vocals are a bit more an acquired taste, but it seems I have that taste and quite enjoyed it.  There is something about the chemistry of this band that really works, and the music while really pushing the limits of stoner rock, is exceptionally well constructed.  If these guys tour your town any time soon, I'd can highly recommend taking the time to see them.