The Basics live @ Theatre Royal, Castlemaine - December 4, 2008
The Basics are an Australian three-piece made up of Kris Schroeder on the bass, Tim Heath on the guitar and Wally de Backer (aka Gotye) on the drums. Their music is very '60s rock and roll with a lot of catchy riffs and lyrics and all three members sharing the vocals.
The Basics only recently completed their tour supported by The Bawdies, a Japanese band. The Bawdies are "Roy" on vocals and bass, "Taxman" on guitar, "Jim" on guitar and "Marcy" on drums. The Bawdies could easily be mistaken for Beatles impersonators as they play the same sort of music, although with an infusion of Elvis and their merchandise smacks of the iconic foursome.
Enter The Bawdies
I saw these two bands play at the Theatre Royal in Castlemaine in Central Victoria (proudly known as the oldest mainland theatre in Australia). The Bawdies were first up and they certainly looked the piece, dressed in matching suits with awesome vintage guitars.
Their songs were fun and loud and it only took a few minutes before the dancefloor was full. All four members were energetic and looked like they were enjoying themselves and in between songs they entertained us with their limited knowledge of English.
Their set started vigorously and did not let up, ending on a rollicking tune that got almost everyone dancing. I have no criticism of their live act, but I do have one for their music. It was fairly difficult to understand Roy's vocals and I think it would be a better idea to sing in their native tongue: Japanese.
Apart from that The Bawdies were a lot of fun and far more than I had expected from a supporting act. In fact, I feel they upstaged the main attraction.
Enter The Basics
The Basics played some of their classics, such as "Rattle My Chain", "Yeah Yeah" and their fantastic cover of The Sonics' "Have Love, Will Travel". These really pleased the crowd and ensured most were up and dancing. They also decided to play some new material, although it did not really have the same lively feel to it as the old favourites and acted as a bit of a mood-killer.
One of the highlights of The Basics' set was when they got The Bawdies up on stage and played some songs together. They worked really well together and clearly had a lot of fun doing it.
There was something about The Bawdies that The Basics lacked. They did not appear to be enjoying themselves and did not look very interested in the gig. The support act was the opposite and the crowd loved it. The main act seemed distracted and indifferent, hinting at trouble in paradise perhaps?
This disinterest especially showed through after their set when the throng was calling for an encore. We had to wait a few minutes until finally Kris came out on stage. Everyone started cheering, thinking it was the beginning of the encore, but instead he came to the mic and said: "Sorry guys but we won't be playing any more tonight."
That was a massive letdown because we were all excited for more. It destroyed the fun and happy mood of the night and the audience was obviously disappointed.
However, The Bawdies were heaps of fun and The Basics played some good tunes. For that reason, I give this gig 3.5/5 because I still really enjoyed it.
