The Gin Club
The Troubadour, Brisbane
Friday 2 July 2010
Tonight is the first of a three-night stand to mark the launch of The Gin Club’s fourth album, Deathwish. They’ve chosen to limit ticket sales to 100 each night, for two reasons: because The Troubadour is the band’s favourite venue and they get annoyed when it’s too full, and to “give concertgoers a unique listening experience”, to use the piss-taking parlance of band leader Ben Salter. The mood’s celebratory as the band take to the stage, and for good reason: Deathwish is a fantastic record, and easily their most accomplished yet. Its smart blend of rock, folk and pop songwriting styles pleases the ear from start to end. The band comprise eight members when fully-flexed, yet owing to Ola Karlsson’s current Swedish residence, tonight’s onstage cohort numbers seven. None of them stay in one spot for too long, as between songs, instruments and lead vocal duties are traded without fuss.
Across nearly two hours, the band air all but one of Deathwish’s 13 tracks: Karlsson’s ‘Do Right’ remains on the bench, though his album opener ‘Pennies’ appears three songs in. Cellist Bridget Lewis is the first lead vocalist tonight: her funereal, flood-inspired narrative ‘Milli Vanilli’ is accompanied by a steadily-strummed acoustic guitar, sparse percussion, Salter’s gently-plucked electric guitar and her male bandmates’ occasional backing vocals. With a Melbourne Bitter in one hand and her unmistakable Queensland accent silencing the room through sheer conviction, Lewis owns this moment. It’s one of only a handful of slower songs to appear throughout their exhaustive setlist: the others are mostly sung by Conor Macdonald, including introspective Deathwish cut ‘I Am My Own Partner’, ‘Country Romance’ from their 2004 debut, and the title track from the 2005’s Fear Of The Sea. Salter’s brother-in-law, Gordon Stunzner, debuts ‘Book Of Poison’ before an audience for the first time, and rises to the task admirably.
An utter absence of ego plays a large part in why The Gin Club work so well together. There are no prima donnas, just a handful of people united in pursuit of perfect songs. They run through 22 of those without showing fatigue or disinterest, even though 1.30am approaches and their sound guy wants to watch the World Cup. Following a raucous, room-wide singalong to old favourite ‘Wylde Bitch’, their final four tracks are eked out with urgency. They tear through a cover of Ween’s ‘Object’, Junk album opener ‘Ten Paces Away’, an awesome impromptu take on Pearl Jam’s ‘Rearviewmirror’ - “I haven’t had that much fun in years!”, exclaims Macdonald at song’s end - and Scott Regan’s brooding rock gem, ‘Days’. One launch down, two to go: The Gin Club, still Brisbane’s best band.
Andrew McMillen