Red Light District...

Note: This Blog was not posted on Sunday, but in fact Monday at 12.20pm.



Review of Little Red Light at the Alley and Jeremy’s:



Ok, so I reviewed the LRL gig at The Alley Bar on the 18th of May…but as there were some technical issues (i.e. the inability to hear Jono’s backing vocals until halfway through the set) and some stolen cymbals (?), I thought that holding off the review process until the next gig might be better for both parties involved.



Venue: Jeremy’s House Party and Birthday Celebrations

When: Friday 1st June

I finish work, catch two trains and walk up quite possibly the largest hill in Newmarket following the sounds of club music juxtaposed against suburbia. I arrive, crack open a G&T, greet/meet the birthday boy, say hi to the few people that I actually know and head downstairs to a laser and smoke filled room. The DJs finishing up and I’m sitting on a couch squished between Luke (aka La-Shondra Jones), Erin (Dave’s - the bassist and vocalist’s - girlfriend) and Hannah. The guys start to sound check and the room slowly fills. Boys in tight jeans and dirty cons, followed by girls in sundresses and tights, are lured to the amp-ed twang of strings and the steady drum beat like moths to a flame.


As I look around the room from my vantage point I realise just how important having the right ‘look’ is in the realm of Indie. After reading Ryan Hibbett’s article “What Is Indie Rock?”, I found that I too could begin to pick those “faking it”. In analysing the website soyouwanna.com, particularly www.soyouwanna.com/site/minis/mini/indierockmini/indierockmini1.html, Hibbett claimed that, “…the goal, as presented, is not to ‘be’ an Indie rock expert, but to “fake it”, with the site positioning viewers to wash your hair less, dress in something that could be found in a thrift store but that actually cost a lot of money and to lose a car that ‘nice’. These ideas and sites directly contrast with the level of authenticity that true Indie musicians strive towards. Hibbett also notes that Indie music is about independence from the mainstream, stating that “the very name ‘indie’ denotes a more concerted effort to separate the ‘good’ from the ‘popular’ – to be not just an ‘alternative to’, but ‘independent of’” (58).


Another academic in the field of music, and important in scene and locality, is Sara Cohen. In her article, “Identity, Place and the ‘Liverpool Sound’”, she reasons that by linking particular artists with particular places, this identifies them with their roots and thus presents them as real people embodying artistic integrity and honesty rather than stars representing an unreal world of glamour and marketing strategies. This pretty much sums up the boys from Little Red Light, as Brisbane is such an important part of who they are and what their band represents.


I’ve heard them play many times over the last year so I don’t have to pay too much attention to the lyrics, yet I’m still surprised when Jono introduces a cowbell halfway through ‘Confetti’ and when the boys break out some surf sounds in the middle of ‘The Operator’. As usual ‘Meet Me In The Corner’ goes down well…with people unconsciously bopping throughout the room, drinks in hand and smiles plastered on faces - a rarity amongst this predominantly indie crowd.


A friend of the band (Alex) adds vocals and bass - whether he remembers or not is questionable - to ‘Monologues..’ and the atmosphere is friendly and relaxed. Drunken shout-outs from La Shondra Jones are considered normal, even the obscure but stereotypical stand-out “I want to have your babies, Jono” doesn’t raise any eyebrows. No one sets out to maliciously judge those invading this space with altered appearances, choices in sexuality and religious beliefs different to their own, but it does happen.


The band will later go on to jam with friends, such as Alex and Dan, until the wee hours of the morning when the police will come to close the party down. All in all, the party provided an awesome atmosphere embracing varying stereotypes and subcultures; French exchange students, musicians, indie uni kids, those not yet out of high school, people you haven’t seen since Primary School so many, many years ago - collective friends from all walks of life. As I get into the cab home at 2.30am the scene re-enters my head of me watching the band and fellow fans, and new friends to the band, as the music washes over them, each taking something different away from the night. In reflection of the whole it was a good night out, both ethnographically and socially speaking. And I can’t wait to do it all again after this rotten exam block is over.

The Alley Gig Set List On A Beer Coaster

Set from Friday night:

New Country Song
Off The Ground
Confetti
The Operator
Meet Me In The Corner
Monologues of Winston Jr.

Sources:

Cohen, Sara, (1994), ‘Identity, place and the “Liverpool Sound”’, in Stokes, Martin (ed), Ethnicity, Identity and Music: The Musical Construction of Place, Berg, Oxford, p. 117 - 134.

Hibbett, R, (2005), ‘What is Indie Rock?’, Popular Music and Society, 28.1, p.55-77.


Note again that this blog was actually posted on Monday 4th June at 12.20pm, but as the site is based in the US, it came up with a Sunday date and time.