"Indie Initiative Review (25th July)" Gig: Thu, 25th Jul 2002 - The Espy, Gershwin Room    Reviewed: Mon, 9th Dec 2002 by Neil Wedd Inpress Indie Initiative review Thursday July 25 The Escapades, Sweet Chuck, Gavin, Radio Airplay seminar Well the Radio Airplay seminar didn’t happen because of scheduling conflicts, exacerbated by my lateness in confirming people. To those people who came down my apologies and I will arrange a seminar in September. It was another busy night with each band impressing the large audience. I continue to be pleased with the number of musicians coming down and supporting the night. I got 3 CD’s from bands wanting to play. The Bad Pennies, who are playing next week gave away copies of their CD to punters. A bold and innovative plan. It is very important for bands to get the audience to the front of the room. Fans are still uncertain about getting up and dancing so bands need to get their friends to make a start. Once a couple of people start dancing others will join. It is an exciting time at the moment for young bands. The hard work is starting to pay off and people are coming to gigs, not out of an obligation to a friend, but because they like the band and want to good night out. The applause is a mark of the genuine enjoyment people get from the band. So, getting the crowd to the front will get people more involved. The band gets to feel the energy of the crowd, and normally bands performs better. In order for people to come to the front the sound levels must be reasonable as well. Not just the foldback but the front of house. If the audience is hanging back, quite often it can be because the band is too loud. Gavin brought along a big enthusiastic crowd. I’m a fan of Gavin, their guitar sound really gets me. Reminiscent of Swervedriver, the twin guitar sound is really captivating. Expressive vocals and a confident stage presence add up to a good package. They got huge applause from the crowd, but it took the last song for the dancers to hit the floor. Calls for an encore had to be refused. Great show. http://www.gav-net.com/ SweetChuck would be on detention with the principal if they dressed this way at school. White shirts hanging out (and not all regulation) of the trousers, incorrect school ties and long mops of hair. But schools out and we wanna rock. So they did. Upbeat pop/punk, but really power pop for the modern age. Good tunes, played fast, loose and at times a bit messy. Almost too much going on. Great stage presence and the band entertain. http://www.sweetchuck.live.com.au/ The Escapades are refugees from New Wave. Singer Dan has the stage manner of a young Elvis Costello/David Byrne, constantly moving with small jerks and twitches and then bopping across the stage. Captivating and compelling. He sings and plays guitar with the same intensity. The other members of the trio work hard and the intensity of Dan is replicated by them. I can’t give the band full justice as I was so tired, but I was very impressed. http://www.theescapades.com Another good night with a large appreciative crowd for each band, and lots of muso’s enjoying themselves. Next week will be great as we have a top lineup in the Gershwin Room as well as Unit in the Front Bar. back to reviews...