So So Modern & Over The Atlantic

Friday, December 12, 2008

The Tug Boat, Wellington

Review by James Beavis, Photos by Sam Conaglen

Between the novelty of a show on a boat and So So Modern’s return to Wellington after several months away, Friday’s show at The Tugboat proved to be a hugely popular affair. Ever able to straddle the line between scene followers and those who appreciate a quality live show, So So Modern and Over The Atlantic attracted a beyond-capacity crowd (100+ people turned away at the door?!), who weren’t disappointed.

Over The Atlantic continued their quest to cement their place as one of New Zealand’s best current live acts, tearing through another energetic set, with the decision to scrap the glossy production of their album in favour of a taut, restless show. Nik’s fevered prowl of the stage was a bit limited by the cramped performance area, but the band still presented a collection of temperamental guitar-driven pop. The addition of a seemingly token keyboardist added some of the ’80s shoegaze atmospherics of the recorded OTA, but for their live set it seemed a bit obsolete. Not that it detracted from their set, just the guitar-based concentration of Nik & co completely holds its own without keyboards.

So So Modern, having established last year that they had mastered the shouty vocals and synth-heavy dance-punk formula, presented a set of contradictions. The matching costumes were gone, but the songs themselves proved far more colourful and varied than I expected (especially after their comparatively demure set opening for !!! in August). The guitars sounded far thicker and heavier, reminiscent of the best parts of a ¡Forward, Russia! album. But where ¡F,R! delves into the same rhythm every track, SSM chopped and changed rhythms throughout the set, building from spooked atmospherics on their opening track through to the violent stop-start rhythms in the middle of Piece It Apart.

Playing with such jagged timing constantly for the past year completely shone through on the musicianship of the group as well. In case you were wondering, So So Modern is TIGHT. Seemingly incapable of missing a beat, Dan owned the drums. Grayson’s vocals inexplicably
remained on pitch, despite the squall of guitar and keyboard that washed over the singing of the group. Any sloppy mistakes of their older shows have vanished, replaced by a focus and intensity that meant the youthful exuberance of their ‘suited’ shows was somewhat diminished. This wasn’t so much a band out to have fun as it was a band out to prove their worth as a complex, well-oiled unit. In which case, their high-pressure, intense set was a success.

As for the venue itself, The Tugboat was a mixture of good vibes and a relatively average setup (not really the organiser’s fault, though). The room itself was underwater, and probably the same size as the San Fran Bathhouse. There was a cash-only bar at the back, and ended up being totally packed. The front half of the room was raised about 40cm higher than the back half, which meant that you had to be in the front half if you wanted to see anything. Even worse was the bar barrier that ran across half of the step up, meaning you had to climb over it to get into the front half once the venue filled in. I couldn’t complain as I squeezed in near the front, but I heard many complaints about how only half the crowd couldn’t really see. It was a good venue in theory, but the impracticality of The Tugboat as a live venue for large shows meant it works best as a novelty, rather than somewhere I’d go regularly. That being said – a show on a boat?! RAD.

More So So Modern and Over The Atlantic live photos

Posted by Sarah Gooding under New Zealand
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