Future of the Left
The Corner, Melbourne
Friday 8th January 2010
A filthy, lustrous love affair is happening here tonight. They've said it before and they say it again: "There are two places in the world that get us: Seattle and Melbourne. We have to go halfway around the world to feel like a band. From a bunch of sarcastic bastards, thankyou".
I break my "review" disposition tonight; all analytical and composed like. Instead I'm sandwiched about 10 feet from the stage, bouncing, peering through a forest of arms and fists as this Welsh trio - featuring two thirds of ace ex-band mclusky, in Andy 'Falco' Falkous and drummer Jack Eggleston, now flanked by ex-Jarcrew singer-turned-bassist Kelson Matthias - walk grim-faced on stage to a Roman Coliseum-like roar of approval. I guess that's the thing about playing maybe your favourite city in the world. When the crowd are ALREADY onside, the task now is to live up to the room's quivering expectations.
From the very first guitar plink of killer opening track 'Arming Eritrea', this doesn't seem to be a problem. The crowd goes ballistic. I get an arm in the face. Someone throws ice at the band. I take that phone photo above like an excited child. I don't know if I've ever seen a crowd response like this at the Corner Hotel - people aren't just flailing around, they're screaming the lyrics back at a bristling band. But, importantly, for all the body flinging it translates as joyous rather than violent. It hit 36 degrees today, making tonight a perfect flashback to mclusky's triumphant set at a similarly steaming Tote Hotel in 2004.
They stay true to the tracklist of Travels With Myself And Another by ripping straight into 'Chin Music'. 'Small Bones, Small Bodies' from 2007's Curses sparked a ye olde mosh, before a punishing 'Plague of Onces' has the crowd feverishly screaming "Why put the body where the body don't want to go", whilst surging forward as if to mount the the punter in front.
Halfway through 'Manchasm' the keyboard that Falco has momentarily switched to goes out of tune. "The heat", they say. While it's attended to, Kelson takes the band's fruit platter and passes it around the audience, berating one punter for taking all the grapes. Someone crowdsurfs. While fruit is being handed out. Things get back on track for Travels... highlights 'Stand By Your Manatee' and 'Drink Nike', before the keyboard returns and they start up 'Manchasm' again. Bands restarting aborted songs very nearly always fail. The thing about Future of the Left, and us, and tonight, and Melbourne, it seems, is that the second time around everyone screams the words louder.
The band must wonder what it is about this one city on the other side of the planet that so embraces them. (To be fair, reports from the night before in Sydney suggest the love is shared). Australia surely loves it's no-bullshit rock n' roll, that much is fact. Add in some ferocious sarcasm, wit, line after memorable line ("what kind of orgy leaves, a sense of deeper loss?" - 'You Need Satan More Than He Needs You') and at their core, a clever pop heart, and it seems like a distillation of all that's considered good and pure about music from an Australian perspective.
At the end of 'Cloak the Dagger', Kelson throws down his bass and crowdsurfs, until reaching a supporting pole in the middle of the room and clinging to it. Meanwhile Falco and Jack have dismantled the kit and reassembled it in crude fashion at the front of the stage. Kelson gets back on stage and they finish the song. And the set. Do they know they could've played for another hour and we wouldn't have lagged?
Downsides? The keyboard sound could've been a little more fiery. 'Yin/Post-Yin' gets an opening spiel about how they only play it because Jack likes it. The feeling that they shifted down a gear for a moment perhaps indicates why. Or that Jack's wrong. They didn't play the epic 'Lapsed Catholics'. Falco seemed a little less talkative tonight, maybe taken aback by the scene laid out for him. No need for hackles here. But ultimately, those miniscule grievances are set aside to suggest that tonight can be added to the musical folklore of this town as much as we've been added to that of Future of the Left's. Pricks. I miss them already.
Marcus