Photo: Justin Ma

The launch of eclectic periodical The Lifted Brow’s fifth edition is moderately populated, but its a crowd that looks ready to party. Yeah! Independent literary publications WOOH! Joel Saunders & Crazy Hearse tread perilously close to the invisible line separating a shambolic show and a show in shambles, losing tempo a number of times and erupting into pure noise many more. He’s noted previously that he’s more confident playing other people’s songs, which may explain the jitters tonight when performing his own material. But Saunders’ curious energy gets them over the line, along with a fantastic band name and an Abraham Lincoln beard. The Estates play the kind of frenetic power pop that you’d expect to hear at a house party in an ‘80s teen movie, with just a dash of gypsy to them. Don’t worry, this is totally a good thing, as they successfully prompt many kicks and screams from the slowly growing audience. If there was one criticism it would be their song endings, as they often end anti-climactically of linger just a tad too long. I’m not claiming capital city inferiority; I just don’t think Brisbane is ready for Melbourne’s Talkshow Boy. A waifish thin shirtless young adult rapping over a combination of urban beats and heavy trance must have took many by surprise, as the audience seem to scurry like pests when the kitchen light is turned on. It’s a high-energy performance, and you wonder how he can keep it up with minimal encouragement from the crowd. For some it’s his confrontational style that keeps them on the fringes of the venue, for others it’s the occasional chip tunes sample (that I swear he was triggering with a Nintendo DS) that successfully pierce the eardrums every time. One day, all music will be created by handheld videogame consoles … but not in Brisbane anytime soon.

MITCH ALEXANDER

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