Support act: The Presets
Julian Hamilton and Kimberley Isaac Moyes are the Presets. Electronic future pop is what they call their music. And electronic it is. Too electronic for me actually. Using only drums (Moyes) and synthesizers/keyboards (Hamilton) they played several songs amongst which “Get the fuck outta here”, “Pretty little eyes” and “Girl and the sea”. They were warming the crowd up but is was obvious everyone was waiting for The Dissociatives.
The Presets gave a good performance, but half way through it was becoming a bit boring. Although the music was technically okay, after four songs it began to sound monotonous. I didn’t see a whole lot of the drummer. Hamilton looked a bit like a Mick Jagger wannabe, doing weird little dances. They gave a good short (on account of some guy asking how long it be before The Dissociatives would appear) show, but it wasn’t to my liking. I saw a lot of old Silverchair fans and don’t believe they were very charmed by it either. Official website.
The Dissociatives
It takes a while to get used to the music of The Dissociatives as it is a weird combination of rock, electric and pop. It sounds like nothing you have ever heard and like nothing you expect of the two conceivers of the band. Daniel Johns (Silverchair frontman) and Paul Mac (a leading figure in the Australian electronic music scene) first met in 1997 when Mac remixed Silverchair’s “Freak”. In 2003 they came together to record The Dissociatives.
The Old Hall in the Melkweg in Amsterdam is a small snug venue where you can stand right in front of the stage or on the balcony. It was hard deciding where to stand: in front of the stage for an up close and personal sighting of Johns, or on the balcony to take good photos. I could not resist the anticipation of Johns though.
The show was amazing. Daniel Johns was clearly taking the lead. Paul Mac sat very still behind the piano looking like an approving father figure to Johns. I think they played every song on the album, including an encore. Most of the songs sounded really great but some sounded a bit sloppy, probably because of the mix of different music styles. Johns interacted with the public quite a lot, even to the point of letting someone climb up the stage and hug him. It is very hard to describe the music and vibe during the concert as it is nothing like I have ever heard before. It feels and sounds like tripping on drugs*. I guess you will have to experience this for yourself, but I had a great time.
*Note: I have never done drugs, so the comparison might be of. It is just what I imagine it to be like.
Verdict: Amazing, weird and unusual are the words that come to my mind thinking back on the gig. If you like rock and electrical and are not afraid of the challenge get used to all the different sounds that come to you at once during the fast succeeding songs, your bound to like of even love The Dissociatives.
Pictures of this gig are here!