13 March 2011
To all fans of good music, the terms ‘Dunedin’ and ‘Flying Nun’ would strike a very favourable chord. Dunedin, perhaps the musical Mecca of New Zealand, is home to some of the best rock and roll bands of the South Pacific, and maybe even the world. Flying Nun is the record label that signed the best of these bands (as well as some great bands from other areas in New Zealand). At the apex of this Mecca is The Clean, a band that has risen from obscurity to being one of the leading and most respected cult rock and roll bands in the world.
Although their gig at The Corner Hotel on the 13th of March was their second of their Melbourne sideshows, it was a full house, no doubt a sizeable chunk of the audience returning after seeing them two nights beforehand. Supported by Sonny & the Sunsets and Melbourne locals Panel of Judges, the Dunedin boys were in good company.
By the way that the members of Sonny & the Sunsets cheekily grinned at each other during their set and the drummer excitedly bounced up and down as he played, you could tell that there had definitely been a bit of naughtiness happening backstage beforehand. Nevertheless, they managed to keep their set together well. Their popped up garage style and witty lyrics were incredibly engaging and a great way to precede the band of the night.
By the time The Clean took the stage, the room was completely packed out, surprisingly largely dominated by people that wouldn’t have even been born when The Clean first got together. For a three-piece, the sound that this band produces is really fucking big. Even though they’ve been playing for over 30 years and the signs of ageing are definitely showing on their faces, there’s little doubt that this band can still rock and roll.
Simple punk chord progressions, short, sharp vocals and fast-driven tempos have become the trademark sound for The Clean, and there was no shortage of them in their set. Musical chairs were played a bit, each member getting a turn at doing vocals. David Kilgour’s voice has matured a lot since the early 80s, but although being deeper and not quite as strong, you could easily recognise that famous twang of his behind it. He remained inconspicuous on stage, mainly keeping his back to the audience, probably more in a bid to escape the heat of the sweltering flood lights than anything else.
It’s really difficult to pick out the highlights of the night when every song is easily a tenner in terms of both performance and songwriting. The crowd seemed to be in favour of their older, more experimental material though. ‘Whatever I Do Is Right’ was a favourite, and if you looked around you could see almost everyone in the audience mouthing along the words. And it’s true; the Kilgour brothers really can do no wrong musically. Unfortunately, this song was only one of two where organ was used rather than guitar.
Other highlights were ‘Flowers’, ‘Getting Older’, and ‘Anything Could Happen’. ‘Flowers’ was a bit of a change of pace to their other material, with bassist Robert Scott (of The Bats) on vocals, who was somewhat more sincere than either of the Kilgour brothers. Trading in their usual experimental punk sound for one more reminiscent of The Velvet Underground’s ‘Venus in Furs’, this song cooled the set down a little, before they quickly returned to their trademark squall.
After an exhilarating set, the boys came back for an encore with The Velvet Underground’s ‘I Can’t Stand It’ , bringing a fantastic end to a great night. This was another crowd-pleaser, because, let’s face it, if you’re a fan of The Clean you HAVE to be a fan of The Velvet Underground. The crowd was in fits of happiness when they figured out what the song was and were dancing right through to the very last chord.
– Ella Jackson
