Review: The Beards, The Good Ship, The Stiffys. The Zoo, March 30 2012

On Friday night I packed up, camera in hand and headed to the Zoo to see the kings of beard-parody bands: the Beards. Last time they came up they played Rics, so it's a huge step up in the world to be playing a sold out crowd at the Zoo. I'd been hearing them for months on ABC AM radio as well, so I guess I must've missed the memo when they became a "serious" band.

But that night was anything but serious. First up was the Stiffys. They encouraged us to drink. A lot:

There were two members to the band: a drummer and a bass player. Dressed as slightly permiscuous sailors. And you'll never guess what every song was about. Penises. I guess the name gave that away. 

They even had a song about how sexy Ranger Stacey was. It really appealed to me as a 12 year old. Musically, they can best be described as DFA 1979 singing about penises. It was fast beats with some good bass playing, in a bit of a dancey way.

The next band, the Good Ship, didn't give away too much from their title. At least I thought not.

But after the 7-odd strong band came out with their plethora of instruments and started playing comedic sea-shanties, well... I figured out the title did some them up pretty well.

You may not know this about me, but I am a man who really loves his sea shanties. I really do. So I enjoyed the crap out of their set, especially their rousing rendition of "What do we do with the drunken sailor" at the end. They have an album launch at the Beetle Bar on April 20. I'd strongly recommend you go see them if you want to have a great time.

At this point in the night, girls were coming up to me and stroking my beard. It was a weird experience, but I guess they were here for that reason. And the Beards did not fail to disappoint. Especially considering the lead singer rocked a beard and a key-tar. A greater combination of awesome I've yet to see.

There was a lot of beer and a lot of songs about Beards. And a lot of chit-chat. All about Beards. For a single joke, it really never stopped being funny the whole night.

 

It was really hard to take the gig seriously, but that was what was great about it. It was just a fun night all around.

Small news

This is a collection of music news that isn't large enough to warrant a whole dedicated post to itself.

Death Grips
The Death Grips show at the Zoo, one week from today, has been cancelled. Not sure why.

La Dispute
I'm not the only one in Brisbane that likes this band I guess, they've added a third Brisbane show to their tour, which is a second AA show. February 21 at Between the Walls.

Trapped Under Ice
I haven't listened to them much, hence no big blog post, but the 90's hardcore-sounding Americans, Trapped Under Ice, are coming to start mosh pits through out Australia. March 1, Snitch (X and Y) 18+, March 2, Between the Walls AA. 

Good Australian folk music
I've talked about the Beards before, a folk comedy (I consider it more truth though) band that sings every song about facial hair. They are great fun and I suggest you get to the Zoo on March 30th to see them. It's only $15.

Good Brisbane punk music
One of my favourite local punk/ska/whatever they want band is the Black Market. They're playing a punk show at the Zoo this Saturday (the 21st) for $10. Can't think of any reason not to go to this.

Good Australian rock music
A few years ago, Children Collide were one of my favourite Australian bands. Although not hearing much from them lately, it turns out they are still going, recording a new album, releasing a new single and touring to support it.

March 16, Elsewhere Bar, Gold Coast
March 17, the Zoo.

Bah, copycats
Spin magazine, who've been music reviewing for a long time, have decided to do the same thing I do. Twitter reviews. If you want to read my reviews, nestled between whatever else I post, check out my Twitter.

The Beards

I am a man. A man with a beard. Since I was about 17, my face has always been adorned with some sort of hair, except for those unfortunate times when I accidentally trimmed too close and looked 14 for the few days it took me to man back up.


I'm not the only person that enjoys a good Beard. The band known as The Beards have formed their entire musical premise around beards. Well, beards, comedy and folk music. It's bloody hilarious. Click the link above to get some free MP3s from them. I'd especially recommend "If Your Dad Doesn't Have A Beard You've Got Two Mums".

They're playing a show at the Zoo on August 12th. You should see them. 18+

Slow news month

The blog, she's been a bit quiet of late. After the glut of concert announcements of February (and the glut of concerts) things have slowed down as we await the April/May insanity of touring. This weekend alone I've got at least 3 gigs to attend, and more that I just can't. To say I'm a little excited is on understatement.

So in my normal fashion, here's a listing of news and things I should've blogged about but just never got around to doing.

AC4/Star Fucking Hipsters
I've been ranting about this for a while, but on Thursday I finally get to see Dennis Lyxzen perform (in non-techno format). He's back in hardcore mode with AC4 and he's pretty much invented most dance moves singers perform these days.

The local bands for this gig at the Zoo are the Mercy Beat and the Quickening, two of the better heavy bands around. I'm especially in love with the Mercy Beat since seeing them at the Bronx and getting my hands on their album. Get there early for a great night of punk. An amazing night of punk.

Phantoms/Friends With the Enemy
More Australian bands that I love. Phantoms are awesome hardcore punk from Sydney that I've been following since a small basement show last year and Friends with Enemy are like A Wilhelm Scream with a female singer.

They're coming together for an awesome punk night at Girls and Boys (X & Y). April 14th, with special 2 for 1 entry if you're a student. And of course cheaper if you know the password.

The Beards
They are a band that sing songs about beards. While having massive beards. With a folk/humour angle. Basically, they're awesome. And the Beards are playing Rics on April 10th.

You can get some of their stuff from Triple J Unearthed. And after listening, you know you want to see this with a few beers. And beards.

Segression
When I was younger, and just moved to the USA, I got all nostalgic for Australian music. And at the same time I was obsessed with metal. All that together lead to me being obsessed with Segression. 15 years on and I had forgotten about them. They still sit their on my CD case though and once a year I pop it back in.

Turns out they are still going strong, and are about to hit the road again. Playing Rosies on May 20th.

MySpace

All these gigs mentioned are 18+.