Aus Music Scrapbook
Midget, Warped, Sci-Fi
Corner Hotel, Melbourne - Friday 19th of December '97
New Melbourne band Sci-Fi featuring members of Diolene plus ex-Sandpit were first up. Having seen them fleetingly before I ensured I arrived early enough, to acquire a clear understanding of what they were about. They bared the standard line-up of two guitars, bass and drums, while the vocals alternated between the male & female guitarist making an appealing contrast. Musically they could be broadly described as indie or guitar rock with a hint of their previous bands, tempo wise they contained more fast rocking moments than mellow ones. On the whole I would be interested to see this band again and urge fans of indie rock to look out for them.
Geelong rockers Warped wouldn't let the small turn out or the fact they were tired get them down, as they soldiered on to put on a great performance. As always their show was full of every rock trademark, ranging from playing the guitar behind the head to rolling around on the floor. They played Small Town Disease, Snuffleupagus, Stepping On My Tung along with fulfilling requests for old stuff from one particular crowd member, who later went up to guitarist Ben to offer a sip of beer only to have the entire thing sculled down. It's this kind of band that keeps the spirit of rock'n'roll alive.
Sydney's Midget who had come down to launch their new single put on a great show, that was a very promising indication of their upcoming album. The new material in comparison to the old songs like Liquid Math & Dogbite, showed a mellower direction for the band. One particular stand out tune, based around a simple structure, repeated over and over built up a strong sense of ambience and mood. The only annoying feature of the whole night was a guy who stood right next to the stage and constantly kept spreading out his arms as if he was introducing the band, Nathan bass player from Warped gave him what for, imitating his actions which provided some amusement. Overall it was a great gig and it was a pity hardly anybody came cause they missed some amazing bands.
By Matt Attlee