Megaphon Studios, St Peters, Sept 6 2008

Before my memory fades completely I'd better write down some notes about the gig at Megaphon Studio.

I'd never been there before but Shane has had the place going for years. It's on the top floor of a set of old industrial buildings at the railway line end of St Peters. You can get out onto a large roof space area next to the studio and it was glamourly industrial in the slight haze of rain:



These pics are all from Mr Peter Nelson, esq - dear friend of the ages.



They remind me a lot of the shots of Cleveland in Pere Ubu's Datapanik box set.



I've always been drawn to images like these of half decayed industry - all the shots for the album cover came from old factories at Sydenham, just down the road.

I'll admit it now that getting all the gear up those tiny sets of stairs was a chore and Ian was a little tired after helping to lift in the PA. The Dead Sea were set up when I arrived and, due to the amount of gear they had, really couldn't be moved in and out so we set up in the smaller area next to them.



Rob somehow managed to leave his specially prepared little box of tricks at home and was crammed into a corner right next to the lights (for the video recording) but he played well in spite of these handicaps.



Peter didn't manage to get any shots of Rob unfortunately so here's 2 of me!



And an atmospheric one of Ian and me.



As much as I could see, the audience were interested and intruiged and gave us good applause after the 40 mins:



Rob was a bit dissappointed (mainly because of the missing gear) and Ian didn't think it was as good as Music Farmers but I felt it was a cohesive performance with some lovely nuances. Tegan and Shane agreed and both thought it was better than last time! Shane was mixing the recordings this week in preparation for the video pieces (which will probably appear at MySpace and Endgame in due course).



Tom's show was a bit hampered by the column in the middle of the studio but it was as clever as last time.



The Dead Sea were terrific this time - much quieter and all the better for it. I didn't stay for Modern Gong Ritual but, apparently, they were better than at Music Farmer's as well.

Thanks once again to Aaron, Tegan, Shane and all who helped tomake these two gigs so splendid.

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Photos

Arron has added some photos of the gigs to his FaceBook 1/4" group.

And here are a couple in all their glory...













All shots by Aaron Hull 2008 whom you can find at 1/4"

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Availability

A rolling thread for places to buy our fabulous record:

For the less internet inclined:

Fuse (Crown St Surry Hills)
Redeye (King St Sydney)
Bravery, Repetition & Noise (King St Newtown)
Repressed Records (King St Newtown)
Music Farmers (Wollongong)
Redback (Wollongong)
Trackmasters (Thirroul)
Ekho (Thirroul)

JB Hi-Fi are taking a swag of them (with a large order from Psy-Harmonics)!!!
The NSW stores which have a copy are:

Sydney (George St)
Strand Arcade
Ipswich (I think that's Qld)
Parramatta
Blacktown
Kotara
Newcastle
Parramatta Westfield
Erina
Bondi
Leichhardt
Hornsby
Penrith
Glendale
Liverpool
Castle Hill
Chatswood
Miranda
Tuggerah
Macquarie Centre (North Ryde)
Macarthur Square (Ambervale)
Warrawong
Warringah Mall (Brookvale)
Rouse Hill

Then there's:

1st and foremost - Endgame

Next found: Recordstore.co.uk

And it's up on iTunes now as well.

As at 14th August it's also on Napster UK.

Damn - someone wants to swap it already.


As at 28th August it's on MTraks

Weirdly, at 31st August it's in Target

1st September at CDOnline.au

and, for also the Finnish peoples of the world.



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Music Farmers 30th August 2008

So, 1st gig in 23 years and I was surprisingly calm thoughout. I suppose I'm in some sort of middle-aged post-caring thought-stream or something. Back in the day my hands would have been sweaty and my pulse right up to the limit but now, except for one track, I really don't need to remember chord changes or, even, vocalisations whilst moving fingers over keyboards. In any case, I think it went pretty well. There were lots of good moments including a quite lovely end with "The Slug of Aznaroth" :-( and some hairy moments that Shane managed to fix with his magic SFX. The feedback was good including some unexpected positive comments from friends who, really, just turned up to be supportive.



Modern Gong Ritual were slightly shambolic but good natured and sometimes quietly elevating. They're not too different from us except that we use synths rather than guits (and gongs) and I think we have a little more variety in the output. The use of the moo-cow thingy put Rob in a lather as he was hoping to use it to splendid effect as well.



Tom Ellard was a hoot. I'd only ever spoken to him once or twice before and he hasn't seemed to have changed the sardonic humour one iota. The music was all over terrific in that electro-dance way he's perfected. Sometimes the videos were too chaotic for me but the one based on relgious TV imagery perfectly matched the less frenetic track.



I didn't take any pics of The Dead Sea, unfortunately, as they had terrific, well matched visuals. They play a kind of heavy, grandiose, progressive post-rock that sounds enormously difficult to pull off. The array of stuff they utilse and the ease with which they use it is amazing as well. However it got a little loud and peircing for my ancient ears.

So... thanks must go to: Aaron for his unfailing positivy and calm; Shane for mixing everyone with clarity and aplomb; Tim V for gear and assistance; Tegan for promotions (and the rest); David for the polarised slides and all the others who helped to make it happen (including the lovely person who did all the stuff at the door - but whose name I, regretably, can't remember Emma).

Bring on next Saturday!