Basement @ The Factory, 27th May ’16
Listening to Basement’s recorded material, what is immediately apparent is their wholehearted embrace of the ‘less is more’ concept.
Boasting three albums that are each done and dusted in the time it takes to digest a sitcom, the English quintet clearly thrive on leaving their fans gagging for more.
On the evidence of tonight’s performance this philosphy seems to have been applied to their live show, with a rapid fire set clocking in bang on forty five minutes and admirably eschewing the almost obligitory encore.
Reduced to silhouettes by the minimalistic light show, the band issued the briefest of greetings and set about their frantic mission.
With only the occasional pause to bestow praise upon our country (as the English rightly should) it was a full throttle excursion that encompassed material of all three studio albums.
New album ‘Promise Everything’ had one of it’s big guns ‘Aquasun’ launched early with ‘For You The Moon’ and ‘Brother’s Keeper’ ensuring the predominantly youthful attendees were kept in a state of perpetual excitement.
At the forefront of the band’s bustle is the relentless energy of frontman Andrew Fisher who flails about like a unique hybrid of Peter Garrett and a puppet missing several strings.
As the set climaxes with a couple of older numbers ‘Pine’ and ‘Covet’ there was even a rare sighting of a stage diver, a species that has teetered on the brink of extinction since the nineties.
It was hard not to smile at the combined energy of fans and band so when the house lights came on so early there was a definite sense that everyone was craving a little more. As previously stated, that may have been precisely Basement’s gameplay.
Photos: Benon Julius William Otto Koebsch
He can also be found clinging to his youth on a skateboard or wandering aimlessly through the bush.
- The Beards @ The Metro, 2nd July ’16 - July 8, 2016
- Parkway Drive @ Wollongong Uni, 25th June ’16 - July 1, 2016
- Basement @ The Factory, 27th May ’16 - June 3, 2016
