The Cat Empire - So Many Nights (gig/album)

The Cat Empire
Metro Theatre, Sydney (14th, 17th October, 2007)

So Many Nights (2007)
By The Cat Empire (EMI)

On first listening to the album So Many Nights, I had moments where I thought "I kinda like that", such as the string/scratch 'turn' on the title track and the rumble behind Harry's vocals on The Darkness but nothing stood out until the soaring emotional pull of The Ocean Takes Us All.

It's always the way, isn't it? You have a band you love and you know all their existing albums off by heart and they have a new collection that you know you should love - but you don't yet. Since I'm of the old school of listening, whereby I will play albums through, and repeat, instead of skipping songs that I don't like to begin with, then I get a thorough aural education when a new album comes out.

Eventually I added Radio Song and Voodoo Cowboy to my favoured list but it took about four listens to discover those. The thing with TCE is that you need to go to a live show to consolidate an album because then you really appreciate the nuances in the music through the energy that the boys inject into the lyrics and their musical relationship.

So my flatmate and I went to two very different gigs at The Metro, Sydney (part of their record-breaking series). The Sunday was the first night of this series so they were fresh, rolling out the new songs with aplomb and mixing it up with a few old favourites. Here I gained an appreciation of Fishies, previous to the gig a 'meh' kind of song but one that carried well to rhythmic movement. Harry nursed an excellent The Darkness that must have lasted about 10 minutes but which deserved to be showcased.

As with all their gigs I've see thus far, it was executed with the kind of enthusiasm and energy that you'd only expect from consuming chemical substances. The wonderful thing about TCE is the interplay between the different band members, and even their ring-ins, The Empire Horns, where no one on stage is left behind. The tangents that come from the songs are a delighful mix of raw and polished talent so rare in popular bands these days.

The second show we went to was on Wednesday, which was touted as 'fan night' featuring a set list voted on by the fans. Before the show, fans could submit questions to be answered sporadically throughout the show. Ross Irwin was in charge of reading out the questions and found most of them to be crap except one of mine, which was 'Which song would you never play live?' (I can't remember what my other question was but I think it was pretty cliche). It was the only question that was answered before the exercise got scrapped and the answer, according to Felix, was "I don't think we've ever played The Wine Song live".

I must beg to differ, Mr Riebel, as I fell in love with The Wine Song during the first TCE gig I ever went to, coincidentally at The Metro about five years ago. I distinctly remember a female singer and Harry acting out the 'run, run, run' part. Prior to that I'd never really noticed it on the album.

Anyway, as the set list was nominated by fans it was of course dominated by older stuff, which was a pity as I quite liked listening to the new stuff in a live context. As I said, it's almost necessary to do so to consolidate an album in mine consciousness. Thus, Wednesday was most definitely Harry's night, with lots of 'Harry' songs and impro interludes, including a 15-minute The Car Song and starring a fan doing the trumpet intro to How to Explain. The night finished with two takes of the new single So Many Nights, filmed for the video clip.

The other thing I would like to mention is Felix's sustainability session, which I attended after the Saturday matinee (I didn't go to the show, I just went to the session). Sadly, it was a bit too beginner for me, though I did get to pose the question "If Felix from The Cat Empire can't get The Metro to stop using incandescent light bulbs, what can the rest of us do to change the habits of others?" The answer was a bit philosophical: "Set a good example and don't forget to tell people why you do what you do."

And the other other thing I'd like to mention is the support act, The Bamboos, were fantastic – worth both admissions prices alone. I will definitely try and see them again when they are next in town. Their too cool blend of funk with jazz sensibilities had my feet almost worn out even before TCE mounted the stage. So much rhythm, such a short set...

Gig rating: 9/10
Enjoyment rating: 10/10

Album rating: 7/10
Enjoyment rating: 8/10

Bic Runga - Birds (gig/album)

Bic Runga
State Theatre, Sydney (17th March, 2006)

Birds (2005)
By Bic Runga (Columbia/SonyBMG)

I'd just like to point out that rather than wait for Bic to release 'Birds' in Australia (March 2006), I ordered my copy online in December. Disgraceful - New Zealand got their release in November.

How to describe 'Birds'? If her debut album 'Drive' was part angst part hope and her 2002 release 'Beautiful Collision' a collection of folk/pop songs about love, life and resignation then 'Birds' is just melancholy. The music and vocals are spare and often ethereal without the churning guitars that marked anthems like 'Swim' from 'Drive' nor the happy melody that follows 'Get Some Sleep' from 'Beaultiful Collision'. Imagine the more mellow, sentimental tunes like 'Bursting Through', 'Drive' and 'The Be All and End All' and 'She Left on a Monday'. Now imagine an entire album of those songs and you have 'Birds'.

The new album is downtempo with only two tracks, 'Winning Arrow' and 'Blue Blue Heart', with any discernible pace. Also evident is a hint of country with the lullaby-like 'No Crying No More' and a shade of Western storytelling with the epic tale contained within 'Ruby Nights'. Bic's lyrics rarely stray from simple, effective words that wend into poetry with the right music and timing. She never tries to be too clever with metaphors or esoteric concepts, which makes her one of the most intelligent songwriters (that I can think of) never to employ word play into lyrics and never having to resort to rhyming 'fire' with 'desire'.

I suspect it was a lot harder to get the right sound on this album compared to the other two, largely because it seems like there's so much involved to pare back the compositions. Kind of like the key to makeup being to look like you haven't any on. The greatest triumph is that it works - the balance perfectly foregrounds Bic's voice, the timbre and mood of each word while also ensuring that the music remains important.

This is something she translated well at the concert. The first half was packed with songs from 'Drive' and 'Beautiful Collision' and a couple of covers/B-sides and so therefore pleased the crowd and mostly rocked out. (She began with 'Precious Things' on the keyboard and ended with mega-hit 'Sway' on the guitar, just to give you an indication). She even wore fiery red.

The second half brought her out in a long golden gown with three backing singers and Neil Finn on piano (who Bic has outsold in their native NZ). Surprisingly, this ensemble totalled twice as many musicians than the first half for songs that were half as loud. Performed with quiet dignity and a feminine touch, the second half was all 'Birds', every single track. Of particular note was 'Ruby Nights', played with necessary restraint and 'That's Alright', which "spoke to me".

Predictably she returned for an encore with Neil Finn, which consisted of 'The Be All and End All' and 'Something Good' then solo for 'Drive', which I thought was a good move. The audience loved her.

The venue was fittingly large and lush without losing intimacy but I do hanker for The Basement days, which suits her tranquil disposition. While she doesn't lack charisma, she doesn't tend to project it, radiate it, like other music personalities. That's partly why we love her; she exudes a certain kind of modesty about her well-received work but she'll never play to a stadium. The State Theatre was almost too much for her but she managed in the end.

gig: ***1/2 - an enjoyable night but nothing to rave about
album: **** - incredibly deceptive in its complexity and touch