KUBIK
Super Melody, World's End Press, Midnight Juggernauts DJs, Cut Copy DJs
Birrarung Marr, Melbourne
Friday 18th November 2011
Melbourne Music Week kicked off in cubical fashion on Friday, with an opening party at temporary riverside venue KUBIK. Local roster Super Melody, World's End Press, Andee Frost, and Cut Copy and Midnight Juggernauts in DJ mode, all busted out their neon good-time dance-pop on a post-thunderous, balmy Friday evening, within the glowing confines of a few dozen giant neon cubes. Seems apt, right?
Launched in Berlin in 2006 and billed as "a revolutionary, truly global, open-air live music venue," KUBIK is essentially a globe-hopping configuration of large plastic, water-filled cubes that glow and pulse with light, set around a temporary stage and bar. With the city as its backdrop, it's basically a pop-up event on a grand scale. And, it must be said, able to impart an instantaneous level of "Shit, that's pretty cool," upon entry into its gilded confines.
Opening night saw a slew of local acts (and friends) band together to provide a party that was pregnant with atmosphere, if little light on unifying crowd vibes. Suprisingly — although perhaps in keeping with the transient nature of the event — the crowd felt touristy, with little evidence of previous participation with many of the acts. (Actual conversation overheard early on: "These Midnight Juggernauts, are they any good? Are they usually a band are they? And they're DJ'ing? That's why it's so cheap yeah? 'Cause they don't have to put in much effort.")
Still, such a lack of connection provided the perfect opportunity to establish one, and after a dark-tinged set of electro jams from
Super Melody (aka a gregarious James Cecil in new-found solo mode),
World's End Press single-handedly converted the crowd of strangers into future fans, with a jubilant set of tunes from their forthcoming debut; most notably on the percolating, arpeggiated riffs of opener 'Fresh Mystics'. From there it was all flailing limbs, sparkly jackets and stupidly-infectious, spritely disco-pop. So it goes. With an album to match their live shows due to be delivered in early 2012, anyone can see World's End Press are going to be huge.
Midnight Juggernauts and
Cut Copy (both in DJ mode) pared the night back some in the shadow of World's End Press, if only because it was hard not to wish for another live(-ish) band to step up to the plate. But the sense here was more one of coming together inside the ever-escalating flashes of KUBIK's interior, rather than yelling for the hits. And so we got a blend of cheesy pop classics, space disco and snatches of local artists to while away the night under blinks from distant skyscrapers.
Despite an ominous day of driving rain (which miraculously cleared for the night), some obscene drink prices and the selfish want for more "band", KUBIK delivered on its promise as a (nearly) summer highlight.
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(Pics: Winston Struye)
KUBIK runs from November 18 to 26, open until midnight on weeknights and until 2am on weekends. More here.