Elsewhere Bar, Gold Coast
Friday 21st August 2015
Elsewhere Bar steadily filled with a somewhat tentative crowd on Friday night. After-work drinks dampened by the light rain; smokers huddling in sparse, dry corners; a smattering of dedicated music fans standing side of stage poised for the first note.
Many seemed to have just stumbled upon the bar, seemingly content to stick around, rather than those making the dedicated visit to see the burgeoning phenomenon that is Australian duo Holy Holy.
Local Electronica favourite, Govs, started the night’s music with his laid-back ambient grooves. Solo with a keyboard, mic and star-shaped glasses, he bounced casually and mumbled vocals; the crowd eased into the vibe, but first-timers to a Govs' set were unconvinced; the laissez-faire approach to vocal delivery possibly going a bit too far into the realm of nonchalance to hook new fans in.
GALLERY: Click for scenestr's photos from the night
Those in the front row bounced along with him, visibly enjoying it. Govs' recorded material has lovely tones, a relaxed, late-night Chet Faker rasp in the vocals and tidy beats. The live delivery didn’t live up to it.
Conversely, Holy Holy built some suspense with a brooding recorded track, enticing the outdoor crowd inside. From the first note the sound was near perfect – both music and the mix. Opening with last year’s single ‘History’, then making their way through the new album plus a new, surprisingly pop track ‘Heartbreaker’, sounding like a hybrid of Fleetwood Mac & Dire Straits, to which the crowd took like it was an old, dance floor classic. The five-piece stayed on-point for the entire set.
For a relatively young band, they deliver songs and performances with the maturity of seasoned musical masters. The big hit of the new album ‘You Cannot Call For Love Like Dog’ shone, the sonic landscape painted in the recording flawlessly brought to life here, with shimmers of Icehouse and Eskimo Joe in the light & shade, pulsing bass and dramatic crescendo of that moreish guitar solo. There is little surprise they credit Neil Young as one of their major influences, entering into a tidy cover of ‘Southern Man’ for their encore.
Elsewhere Bar has a cosy ambience, and is a great room for sound, but terrible for visuals. A compensatory line-of-sight offered by mirrors side of stage, through which the best view of the band, crammed on a tiny stage, was found.
Despite seemingly perturbed by the unique beast that is a Gold Coast audience, and stopping to tell people to settle down, which seems ridiculous considering the genre, Frontman Timothy Carroll’s performance is self-assured and understated. It doesn’t need to be anything more because he is performing amazing songs with heart-felt honesty; they sell themselves.
Tonight, for example, having already outgrown the stages they’re playing, Holy Holy look primed to be the heir to the throne currently occupied by the likes of Boy & Bear, showing all the promise of impending and significant success; and this album, an Australian classic. If you get a chance to see them, do it.
