26th April 2012
In the space of 80 metres the
scene on Brunswick Street changes from brothels and adult shops to cafes and
Red Roosters. Situated amongst the mishmash is a small bar called ‘Rics’. Looking
through the glass Ric’s looks unnassuming and chilled. Its filled with uni
students, bohemians, hipsters of every kind and an eclectic assortment of funny
looking people. As the bouncer swings opens the door, you’re instantly hit with
a unexpected amounts of volume. It’s great.
There’s a small stage (very
intimate) and stacks of posters from previous events; maybe as a little reassurance
to the bands that ‘yes, it is possible to fit everyone on that tiny stage’. As
the PA died down, the brief moment of murmuring was quickly drowned out again
by the sound of some amps firing up. Some
of the funny looking dudes sitting at the back had grabbed guitars and were roaring
them to life on the tiny stage. Those funny looking dudes went by the name of Wideacre, playing their own version of
noisy garage indie.
As the songs pumped out, people
were either sitting back nodding along or at the front; immersing themselves in
alcohol and the solid beat. Primed
from the very start by Murray’s drum count, punters would happily feel it
through the whole song. It was an eclectic line-up, every member sporting his own vibe. You had Murray the hipster drummer (suspenders and all) right behind Christ the no-frills bassist lad. Murry was the tallest and funniest looking, but hunched over his guitar so much at times he was almost level with the unassuming singer/guitarist Xijun, who had brick wall solid vocals. Each one was uniquely deranged, but added to the ‘anything goes’ vibe of Ric’s.
Their early material was rather consistent- fast short wails of noise accompanied by quick hi-hats and the scratchy guitars. Later on Wideacre were playing material that was slower, using quiet loud dynamic s and rich effects in the lead guitar. The result was a lot of long, droning, occasionally dissonant noise that sounded sweet and anarchic. Definitely cool music to drink to. These songs were applauded by an audience that was hungry for more, or just too happy to care.
The minor screw ups were easily hidden behind their wallowing sounds and cruisy vibe. To some degree Wideacre have mastered the attitude of being carefree, and used it and their sound to put their audience in a good place. Reckon these guys would be perfect for house parties- they’d destroy the place and make you feel good about it at the same time.
Listen to WIDEACRE
See More about WIDEACRE:
- Via Facebook
- Via Triple J Unearthed
