It’s good to see Katy Steele is still at it. After a mix of solo tours and Little Birdy shows, she’s at the Rosemount launching her latest album, Undressed. Her reputation as one of the great front-persons out of this isolated city precedes her, and she did nothing to quell this in front of a packed house.
Anna Schneider opened the evening, and her choice to start with an a cappella version of the Elvis classic Crying in the Chapel really showed off her strong voice. It’s a clear indication you are watching something special when the crowd goes quiet. With just her and an acoustic guitar, she entertained with love songs about share houses and overgrown weeds; both musically interesting and relatable lyrically.
She then moved to love songs one assumes are directed at people, with kisses into the microphone a nice touch. Sun was a highlight of the set – Schneider transcending with her vocal melodies, before reminding us to not miss the catchy guitar riffs. You could feel the hushed crowd were along for the ride; it’s the reason we go out and see live music. Singing songs from her upcoming album, and ending with Favourite Colour, inspired by the colour palette of clothing on a hills hoist (in the share house, one assumes), it was a lovely warm-up to the main event.
Katy Steele took to the stage with the venue filling to capacity and the atmosphere building, the crowd eager to see what songs would be included in the latest performance. The noisy chatter went quiet as she took to the stage; her appeal still strong after twenty-odd years at it.
After an honest admission of nervous excitement and a few goes getting started, she locked into Signal to You and shed any doubts about her abilities. From there Steele’s powerful voice and knack for melodies kept the audience engaged and happy. A particular highlight came when she played the Little Birdy classic Beautiful to Me, with a lovely harmony from the accompanying keys complementing her vocals.
Rescue Boat followed – it must be close to the best of her solo material. She then powered through a mix of Little Birdy, solo, and cover songs. From Hit Me Baby One More Time to Perfect Day and Michael Jackson’s Ben, it was an interesting mix which showed off her range and influences. The occasional shaky start only reinforced the honesty of the performance, Katy happy to take another run at a song until it felt right. There is no better reminder of what she’s capable of than Relapse, still one of the finest songs in the Little Birdy catalogue.
It was an evening of both nostalgia and new music, with Anna Schneider a great choice for support to showcase that this city still has plenty to offer. The reception throughout the night made one thing clear: Perth/Boorloo’s affection for Katy Steele has not faded.
It’s the best time of year for indie music in Perth/Boorloo, with RTRFM’s In the Pines. To celebrate, we’re going all out and reviewing every band. It was a marathon day but darn it, it was a hell of a lineup and the bands deserve it.
Tasked with opening the event, Persia brought some luscious R&B. The young band, fronted by Persia herself, played tight and smooth, laid-back tunes reminiscent of 90s and neo-soul. The crowd were steadily descending on the venue as she sang singles released over the last year or so. Butterfly (not the Mariah one), No Hero, and soon to be released Good Thing were highlights, and nice to see original R&B being produced right here in Perth/Boorloo.
Iconyx next, and the Pintupi and Kukatja (Kimberley and NT) 18-year-old is blazing a music trail. The singer, who is also blind, showed off her singing prowess from the first song, sung a cappella with lovely backing harmonies from the band. The setup on stage was simple but effective – samples from the decks, plus live bass and drums. A highlight was her singing the Archie Roach song Mulyawongk, her version approved by the late great himself. Iconyx was clearly enjoying herself up on the big stage, with the set taking on a more hip-hop tone for the second half. Her album, Blak on Trak, provided most of the set material, we highly recommend you check it out.
Time for Symmetrical Dogs to take the stage, and they are one of the city’s most exciting young bands. The band sit somewhere between acoustic folk and punk (think stripped back, early Big Thief) and keep the set interesting with plenty of banter between Claire and the dedicated audience, with some interesting stories coming from Boyd when handed the mic. The other Mike, playing acoustic like no one else, shifts casually between delicate fingerpicking and thrashing along with Boyd’s bashing and Claire’s primal scream. Nowhere is this more evident than in epic set closer Americana.
Cryptids on stage next with their country-tinged Perth/Boorloo sound. The somewhat slacker styling suits a Sunday arvo nicely, and their tunes go a bit further out there with songs like Hunting for Ghosts in Abandoned Buildings. From the flutey, laid back early parts of the set, the band quickly escalated into shoegaze, post-punk, Joy Division-esque territory. A nice mix of that Perth/Boorloo sound and beyond.
Hailing from the Kimberley/Mowanjum region, Kallum Mungulu brought some music from remote WA to the stage. Playing hard rock, full of lyrical depth and including a guest spot from Nick Allbrook on Ngiya Ga Ngiya, the four-piece gave the growing crowd a taste of what’s happening further afield. Kudos to RTR for including these guys.
Clare Perrott is about as country as it gets for someone from Melville. She has a twang to her voice that suits the genre perfectly. With a tight band and great originals, plus throwing in Streets of Your Town for good measure, the band really hit a nice groove. Clare played the banjo for Biting on the Hand and made it clear the band are just as important as its frontwoman, declaring “we’re Clare Perrott and we’re here to bite y’all.” Sounds like fine modern Aussie alt-country.
One of the older bands on the lineup were Showbag! For anyone over 40, their sound slots in perfectly to what you might remember being played at day-festivals like Yak It Up and Mudslinger. For the younger generation — the late 90s are back in fashion, you’ll find plenty to like here. They mixed it up between the just released Waterhouse album and older material. The mini keyboard, loop-driven single Break My Arm was a highlight.
Right in the middle of the day, the program of rock bands was broken up nicely by Tchega. The highly danceable Créole rhythms got the crowd on their feet and moving and set the atmosphere to party. Well done to the RTR event coordinators for timing this perfectly to break up the sound (and this review).
New Phono up next and we are into the second half of the day. These guys are indie at its best, with big, atmospheric synth sounds driving them into post-rock territory. Playing songs mostly from their very good album Troubleshoot the Rain, the band sound like somewhere between 80s post-punk and modern bands like Stereolab.
Well done RTR programmers for adding a bit of variety with Halo of Teeth. The black metal band punished the audience with ridiculously fast drum patterns and guitars to go with. These guys are definitely not easy listening and a good time for the kids to either run away in fear or hang around and learn the ways of the metal lords. These guys will eat any children remaining. Setting aside the horror, the band were tight and relentlessly heavy, despite being down a guitarist they still managed an epic sound.
Kayps next, representing the hip-hop scene, and with just himself and a backing track on stage he grabbed the audience and pulled them in for the ride. With plenty of bouncing from the crowd, encouraged by the rapper, the party vibes went up a notch. He regularly called on people to get involved and have fun, including a call and response ending to make sure the audience didn’t forget what they just saw.
What can we say about Grub? First of all, despite following death metal and hip-hop acts, they held their own as one of the heaviest of the night. The three-guitar band are a perfect mix of catchy, radio-friendly and Sonic Youth-esque thrash. Matilda up front is just oozing personality, and it’s reflected in both her stage presence and songwriting. The band have a quality about them that makes it feel both a little old school Aussie while sounding very much in the now with the wall of guitar noise.
With the sun going down behind the pines, Anna Schneider seemed like a perfect choice to say bye to the light. Her angelic vocals mixed with trip-hoppy sound gave the crowd a dreamy, swaying vibe. Her songs often start off delicate and light, before riffs and beats introduce themselves and the songs build into something bigger. The guitar work was a particular highlight, with Anna producing some dazzling riffs on the acoustic.
Getting towards the home stretch now and veterans of the scene Gunns turn to show us what they’ve got. Another band to boast the triple guitar threat, they blasted the crowd with psych surf sounds, sitting in that 80s/90s post-punk pocket. With new single Peppermint Waves out in the world, the band have a lot to offer the modern Perth/Boorloo scene.
Not to be outdone, RTR pulled another left turn with electro 3-piece Sarco. Playing acid techno, the line was officially drawn and time for the kiddies to get home and let the grownups keep partying. Singer Shinead Ruby, singing/talking live with loops and effects, connected to the audience and gave the band a charismatic stage presence. It makes all the difference to the electro setup having this personality acting as master of ceremonies.
With the giant frog mascot getting warmed up on stage as Sarco had the crowd dancing, New Nausea hit the stage running and got everyone into the indie groove. With catchy, danceable songs aplenty they were perfect for the slot (When ICU, what a track). Their music almost defines the modern Perth/Boorloo indie sound. It’s music that just oozes hanging out with friends and good-time vibes; it almost felt like the good old Big Day Out days and bands like Powderfinger. Even the RTR team were tearing it up, dancing with delight backstage.
It says a lot about both the inclusive nature of RTRFM and the Perth/Boorloo scene in general, when you can have a day of music moving from death metal and acid electro to following up with the grace and excellent songwriting of Emily Barker. Emily gripped the crowd tightly with positive energy nestled in songs like With Small We Start, and the very fitting Wild to be Sharing This Moment. Hear hear.
It was up to Nick Allbrook and his latest band Walrus to close out the east stage. There aren’t many other Perth rock alumni that could be trusted to play such a slot, especially with no recorded music for the brand-new band. Allbrook is a fully fledged performer though and took to the stage like a duck to water. With an outstanding rhythm section to hold things down, the wild frontman pulled out the moves and his lagerstick. The new tunes are the eclectic mix you’d expect from these guys, and I’m sure everyone in the crowd would agree we want to hear more.
Grievous Bodily Calm have become synonymous with the Perth music scene, and if you want to call on someone to get a gig closed out this is the right band for it. The hip-hop / electro fused jazz makes for great late-night crowd fodder (okay it wasn’t that late, but it was a Sunday). The most impressive part of the show is the performers themselves — all are at the top of their game and masters of their instruments. There aren’t many instrumental bands that can do what they do, going beyond just holding the audience’s attention but entertaining them with danceable beats and moments of pure awe.
If there is anything negative to say about the event, it is that the loos were pretty far away. This is not all negative though, as the constant banging of portaloos would have probably killed the vibe closer to the stage. They were nice toilets though. Enough toilet talk. Congratulations RTR for managing to keep this event going for 33 consecutive years. The event is a fantastic showcase of both the local scene, and RTR’s ability to nurture and provide places for the excellent music in this city. Another successful, inclusive, and diverse In the Pines — looking forward to next year already.
The Rechabite was heaving with good vibes all round as Stella Donnelly returned to her hometown for the last show touring her latest and greatest album Love and Fortune. Stella captivated the packed room with many singalong moments throughout her now well-stocked catalogue of songs.
Opening the night was Anna Schneider and her band playing some beautiful ambient, dreamy pop. The four-piece warmed up the crowd nicely with a soundscape centred around Anna’s acoustic guitar and vocals, backed by a tight rhythm section and excellent synth work. The crowd were onboard and won over by the time the set finished.
Time for Ullah and the packed room to really get going. With an ever-growing list of quality tunes coming from the Perth songwriter and band, you could really get a sense that big things are coming. Mixing the very catchy, radio friendly pop songs like What Nightmares Are Made Of (the softer acoustic breakdown in the middle of the song is a gorgeous masterclass in songwriting, and another level live) and I Want It All (with a brilliant, crowd-ready singalong chorus, and the crowd obliged) with the more introspective songs like latest single Shoulder To Shoulder. The performance showed confidence and a bit of cheek, and the crown-wearing singer showed she can handle the big stage.
With the room buzzing and everyone feeling the love, Stella Donnelly arrived on stage and didn’t stop smiling. From the early cuts like Standing Ovation, Stella set a standard that kept up through the night. Synthy sounds to set the mood, then kicking into the guitar driven indie pop she is so good at. The maturity on the album came through in the live show, with Donnelly beaming and looking like she and the band were really enjoying being up there. This was absolutely reciprocated by the crowd, with plenty of singalong moments coming from songs new and old.
Other set highlights included the wonderful album title-track Love and Fortune, Mosquito and Baths. Stella kept it interesting by moving between the full band, just her and guitar, and a tight keyboard group; a great way to keep the crowd interested and guessing how she will present the songs. Boys Will Be Boys was particularly stark and emotional, one of the moments where the room took on a more sombre tone. Good art is about taking any subject matter, be it difficult or easy, and turning it into something people can absorb, think about, enjoy, hate, whatever emotions come out. The other side is being able to present it amongst a variety of other topics and moving from serious to lighter themes without losing the room. In Donnelly’s case, she has mastered the art perfectly, and the whole set blended because of this.
A great evening of music all up, and it is wonderful to see these extremely talented songwriters continuing to release high quality music and back it up with engrossing live performances.
