The eve of the Queen’s Birthday public holiday saw enigmatic Melbourne group Black Cab play one of their local city’s finest venues, the Northcote Social Club.
Having not graced a hometown stage since touring the successful 2011 single ‘Combat Boots’, it was no surprise that the band drew a sell out crowd to the 350 capacity band room. Fans were mostly gathered to hear new Black Cab material, particularly the new single that was to be launched on the night.
The night was kicked off by MRSPKR before local shoegazers Lowtide stepped up to enchant the rapidly growing crowd. The unusual instrumentation choice of two bass guitars helped Lowtide drive some clever melodies through their lo-fi sound, and although the vocal harmonisation was at times imperfect, the group delivered a smoothly meandering dream-pop set.
Soon after Lowtide had vacated the stage the last few empty patches of carpet in the NSC band room were filled, as an undeniable air of anticipation built ahead of the main act. The set began with only Steve Law onstage, who gradually whipped up an electronic storm of pulsating beats and frenzied sounds. As this intro grew to a crescendo the other four members of Black Cab’s live lineup filtered on to the stage, with lead vocalist Andrew Coates last of all.
The full band soon clicked into Law’s electronic groove and made their way through a couple of new tracks. These compositions sounded strong enough to suggest that the group’s long awaited fourth album will have a lot to offer. However there was an obvious lack of tightness throughout the performance of the songs, which was surprising to see from such a seasoned band.
The group didn’t fully hit its straps until their fourth number, the aforementioned single ‘Combat Boots’, when James Lee’s post-punk styled guitar lines and Caotes’ powerful baritone voice fully came to the fore. Similarly strong was the next track Black Angel, which saw Black Cab come as close to folk as you could expect from a decidedly electronic act. The augmented level of performance was continued as the band powered through other favourites such as Hearts On Fire and Sexy Politzei, and hit a peak on the new wave jam ‘Go Slow’.
The penultimate tune of the night was the forthcoming single, and although it was supposed to have been launched on the night the song wasn’t actually ready for sale. It was played live nonetheless, and its more industrial Germanic sound appeared to be well received by the crowd. Thankfully unlike the band’s earlier forays into new material, the single was played with all the energy and tightness that had been evident throughout the middle and latter sections of the show. This positive end to the night gave fans heart that Black Cab’s elusive fourth album will be well worth the wait.
