Photo: Press
It was in the fairly new venue, Buyers Club, that Gengahr stopped off on their fairly big tour. Interestingly, though the band had no prior rapport with the city apart from one festival appearance, the small venue was really quite busy. Not only that, but what was most noticeable was the appearance of a few of the city’s musos.
For in attendance, were members of Gengahr’s old tour buddies, Circa Waves, as well as, Dave McCabe. It is no real surprise, then, that the bill was heaving with talent. The two lesser-known bands, AGP and Caro, proved that such endorsements were really quite fitting.
AGP, opened the night, and though the band are currently travelling under the waves of the local music scene, it would appear that they have a fairly sturdy following. The choice of AGP was pretty much spot on, as far as having an unmixed bill. Their slightly melancholic, yet overtly uplifting sound set the tone for the whole night. And done so with a wry smile in tow, as the singer quite neatly put it himself, “We’ve really enjoyed this despite the way we look.”
Next up were one of the most exciting new bands in the country, Caro. Their career without any professional guidance was fairly short lived, and for good reason. The band brought their Alt-J laced weirdo rock in full force. Time signatures were constantly erratic, emotive yet sometimes questionable lyricism (Under every pair of goody two shoes/ Is a dirty pair of socks/ that you’ll never wash), and a soiree of fuzz laden riffs were the order of the half hour set. There hasn’t been an unsigned band quite like Caro, since Alt-J. They are a treat. And what is more, they are a band that, in due time, are going to be a big treat.
Last up were Gengahr, and it comes as no surprise that the band were taking to instantly. Opening with an apology, lead singer Felix Bushe, said: “Sorry for the delay, our sound guy left his laptop in the restaurant.” There was a mixture of a nervous disposition as well as, excitement. Yet the band powered through that, and delivered with an excellent showcase of their dream-pop sound.
Though the set was short lived, one thing was abundantly clear: Gengahr’s second album is going to be brilliant. It’s no secret that, with the use of retrospect, you could claim that Gengahr’s debut came out far too early for the band. But an upside to that early release, is that the band have accrued a cult following. From a live vantage, it is all but confirmed that this second album will take Gengahr to relatively new heights.
