One could be forgiven for thinking it’s just a typical lazy Sunday, judging from the hollowness of The Zoo early this evening. The doors are open wide, but only a trickle of punters are making their way into the cosy venue.
Before too long a young, very normal-looking man in a very normal-looking plain white t-shirt stumbles out on stage. First impressions might be plain and simple, but the tunes of local electronic music producer Tincture are appreciably more complex.
There’s something quite sinister-sounding about Tincture’s work, and this is only added to in the live setting as static green and red spotlights throw shadows across his face.
A few tracks in, the 20-something takes a break from chopped vocal samples and announces that it’s his first time singing live. This is met with encouraging cheers from the otherwise motionless onlookers.
Tincture then skilfully coats his synthy, bass-driven instrumentals with his own filtered vocals, looking less-and-less self-conscious as the set goes on. But just as the punters forming the front row are warming to him, Tincture leaves the stage all too soon with a succinct self-evaluation, “short and sweet.”
If Tincture set the bar, the next solo electronic artist now hitting the stage is definitely trying to raise it — with facial hair alone. The impressively-bearded Landon Speers, aka Headaches, begins his set with a preface in a chirpy Canadian accent: “Let’s pretend this is church, and church is cool now, so get wacky!”
The atmosphere suddenly intensifies as Headaches launches into his first electronic jam. He wears a sleeveless tank, revealing muscular arms that work the equipment with a certain tenacious grace. Building up the tempo gradually, Headaches remains as a rhythmically-moving silhouette on the perpetually darkened stage.
Sunday night beers seem to finally kick in and many punters are now bending and jerking frenetically to the heavy bass pounding through their chests.
Then all is quiet. “Uh, we have a technical malfunction… at least it’s not a wardrobe malfunction!” jests Speers. After a round of jokes, where blame is laid on Apple computers, Firewire, and his own facial hair, Headaches restarts the show.
He masterfully builds up his tempo once again and absorbs a trio of stiletto-stomping, ponytail-swishing girls into the pulsating rhythm of his dirty beats.
All things considered, Headaches delivers a performance as mesmerising as the grandeur of his beard. Despite the technical difficulties, which arguably added to the entertainment value of his set, Headaches leaves the eager crowd with just the right amount of buzz for the headliner.
The Zoo finally appears to reach its capacity as darkness falls over the sold-out crowd. The manipulated chant-like vocal samples of “Amenamy” fill up the small room as the two young members of Purity Ring emerge under a web of curious stage-lighting. At least a dozen toddler-sized lanterns hanging from metallic arms over the stage like giant cocoons on tree branches.
Even more curious is the smaller tree which instrumentalist Corin Roddick ‘plays’; the 21-year-old appears to control both live sound and lighting as he hits each of the tree’s bulbs with his two sticks. Beside him, vocalist Megan James dominates the stage as she twirls gracefully in a custom-made, long-sleeved, dark and flowy gown.
Belting out their unique brand of experimental electronic music in songs such as “Crawlersout” and “Belispeak”, the Canadian duo have the crowd enraptured with a sensory assault of sound and visuals.
During “Lofticries”, James holds a glowing lamp above her head as though it’s a burning torch in a brilliant vision of victory. The popular “Obedear” even warrants a sing-along, as a sea of bodiless arms reaches towards the yellow lamp James holds just out of their grasp.
Above, the glowing chrysalises continue to pulsate in brilliant colours of burnt orange, turquoise and mauve, and suddenly it’s as if James is queen bee to a few hundred enamoured underlings. Equal parts creepy and cool, there something subtly religious, almost cult-like, in the vibe emanating throughout the stuffy, body-warmed air tonight.
“This is our best show yet,” admits James in a voice which would be more suited to a pre-teen female. Surprising, perhaps, as the powerful vocals she delivers in the following cover song seem to reflect a maturity beyond her 20-something years.
Incongruously it is Soulja Boy’s “Grammy” which allows James to shine, and she flashes a quick and appreciative grin to the cheering crowd. This moment is only topped by the duo’s bearded bro, Headaches, last seen crowd-surfing joyously towards the bar.
With only one album under their belt, the duo seem to be running out of songs and surprises as their set fails to reach the hour-long mark. But those who know Purity Ring’s 2012 full-length Shrines realise there are two hits yet to be played. “Ungirthed” and “Fineshrine” then receive well-deserved sing-alongs and leave the begging crowd in a state of being that’s far from pure.
