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Gig Guide
Friday November 21st
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· Empire Hotel: Hal's Teef
· The Backstage: Three Album Release! Onanon, Alpha State, Kitten Tank!
· Murphy's Irish Bar: Amanda Goodwin and Joe Setefano
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18 June, 2008
Kahu, Spectrum, Dimmer - The Backstage 27/3/08
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Kahu, Spectrum, Dimmer - The Backstage 27/3/08
Page 2
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The lethargy of the Spectrum set seems to seep into Dimmer’s as well, the opener is Seed which is rendered ponderously slow, not quite able to really nail its substantial groove. Still, it packs a mighty swing, the rhythm section leading the charge and the guitar work strangely relegated to second fiddle, so to speak. The rest of the set isn’t exactly high on energy but focuses on the more prominent material from the first and third Dimmer albums, Drop You Off’s implied menace is well intact, as is Senor Carter’s sardonic humour. Where songs get an introduction, they are introduced with, “Ladies and gentlemen, this is a song.” One of the highlights of any Dimmer show in Senor Carter’s old home town of Dunedin is the banter he shares with old friends and family that invariably populate the audience, in-jokes and unfamiliar references they may be but very entertaining nonetheless.
Two new songs are aired, one a full blooded soundscape and the other more reminiscent of There My Dear’s restraint. What’s a Few Tears to the Ocean? morphs from a subtle tear jerker to a cathartic evocation, the gentle swell of the drums and bass pitched against extended howls from the twin guitarists, an unexpected departure from the song’s recorded form. The obvious soulful funk influence of You’ve got to Hear the Music is relegated to subtle flourishes, a steamy guitar lick here, a splash of wah-wah there, but no songs from that era are performed, left it would seem to lineups past. Crystallator, of course, ends the main set and is still as slippery and fluid an instrumental rock song as has ever been conjured before, climbing and squealing it never fails to ascend the substantial heights expected of it. Gladly the band return for the obligatory encore, ignoring calls of “Pendulum!”, “Play some Whitesnake!” and (a little confusingly) “Drum solo!” to re-establish their monster groove credentials with Scrapbook (after more good natured banter with the audience. Apparently only Michael Morley, and Shayne carter’s Mum remember Val Doonican, the 1969 tour with Nana Misscouri being bigger than Altamont). Scrapbook certainly establishes the drumming prowess of Dino Karlis as (along with Kahu) one of the highlights of the night, the other members of Dimmer, whilst most certainly proficient, being a little anonymous. Carter himself still exudes a slick charm and greasy confidence and, thankfully, no desire to rest on his laurels. Consider the other alumni of his generation, and you will have difficulty finding anyone else so restless in their musical development and so divorced from the current musical climate but still so singular in their ability to produce something vital and alive (with the obvious exception of George Henderson, who has always been the outsider genius, just not nearly as recognised).
Overall the night was a little low on the excitement factor, all three acts having moved on from the initial inspirations that made their names to something perhaps more subtle and less immediately engaging.
By Dave Local
Posted by rob
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