Thu 14 Jun 2012
Black Boy Peaches at Refuel Review, 2/06/12
Upon my arrival, I noted two somewhat contrasting features of floor layout. As I entered the live room with handle in hand (funnily enough), I was met with both crowd control barriers and rather strangely: no crowd… There appeared to be a small gathering of bar stools strewn across the front of the stage in a remarkably odd circle, semi in nature and intimate in vibe. There were probably around ten or fifteen youngsters in attendance, assumedly the die-hards as I soon realized the population’s remainder were either studying for upcoming exams or at Sammy’s for a highly anticipated show boasting a number of Dunedin’s coolest on the bill. It was a pity that this gig coincided with other such distractions because I believe it would have been quite a hit under different circumstances.
Most unfortunately, I missed the first band who call themselves ‘The Carry On’. However, post gig research revealed the following: The band are predominantly a covers group who perform regularly around town and from what I listened to, they seem to be doing it well, so carry on indeed.
Starting up as I walked in the door were “The Falconets”. Comprised of a brilliantly expressive drummer, a rock solid backbone bass player and a guitarist of the upmost fluency, this band wove a textured musical tapestry incorporating aspects of folk with rock n’ roll and, um… ‘indie’ I guess… If you wanted me to pin these guys up with anybody widely recognized, it would have to be ‘Mumford & Sons’, being a particularly obvious inspiration. ‘The Falconets’ have a lot of genuine songwriting talent and I thoroughly enjoyed their material. My only memorable dissatisfaction was the onstage banter between songs, it was just too cute and sickly to handle. Otherwise, can’t wait to see them again because I loved it!
The headlining act: ‘Black Boy Peaches’ are two brothers, one drummer and one vocalist/guitar player. Although influenced by the likes of Muse & The Killers, I would have described their sound more akin with that 80’s synth pop rock type affair. According to the band’s skin beater, Tom Mepham, BBP have had changing line-ups in the past but after losing some once allied musicians the remaining siblings have decided to keep themselves simple with just the two of them performing along with all of their bass and synth tracks pre-recorded AND (rather subtly) regurgitated from the guts of the onstage Apple IPhone: a discrete assistant keeping me extremely confused indeed until my later conversation with it’s master. All in all, I thought the band had something quite cool going – it wasn’t anywhere near what I would call ‘my thing’ but I recognize it’s appeal to those whose ‘thing it is’. As noted before, had this been a pint night, I imagine there would have been many dancing feet indeed. Hard luck, perhaps next time will be more fortuitous for the peaches regarding audience attendance.
Written By Michael Morris
