There's something so special about seeing indie rock in a room built for music.
While you'd be hard pressed to find a music fan eager to trade their beloved band rooms for Melbourne's Recital Centre, there was never any doubt that it would be the best setting for Art Of Fighting to play their 2001 debut album 'Wires' in full (15 October).For fans of the band and record, it was a chance to see some of the most gently heartbreaking indie rock the so-called 'quiet is the new low' scene out of Melbourne produced, without the clinking of glasses, Saturday-night boozy chatter and the aural constraints of rooms fitted out for live music but not built for it.
And from the second the band stepped onstage, it felt like a special occasion not lost on audience or the four members, brothers Ollie and Miles Browne, Peggy Frew and Marty Brown.
There were, of course, no surprises about the set, since they were playing 'Wires' from start to end – a record that also never charted but remarkably won an ARIA for Best Alternative Album in 2001.
The delicate beauty of opener 'Skeletons' set the scene before the heartbreaking gut punches of 'Give Me Tonight' and 'Akula', three songs framed by frontman Ollie's stunning voice and delivery, Brown's guiding percussion and Frew's bass.
For all its beauty, 'Wires' is also quite an introspective, emotionally heavy trip, so Frew's vocal turn on 'I Don't Keep A Record' was both a pleasure and a breather for some.
Not long after, she mentioned that she had the kids manning the merch desk if anyone wanted to pick up a record – 'Wires' available on vinyl for the first time ever – or a book. Frew incidentally is an incredibly talented writer.
Earlier, Ollie joked about writing 'Wires' when he was aged four, introducing one song with: "I wrote this after preschool. . . on my recorder."
Jokes aside, the band closed out with 'Find You Lost', set highlight 'Just Say I'm Right' and 'Something New', plus the 'pop song' Ollie felt he needed to write, 'Reasons Are All I Have Left'.
Despite it being a Saturday night in Melbourne, not a single word was shouted out despite ample quiet moments. In fact, the audience offered a standing ovation but Art Of Fighting looked almost embarrassed about being onstage and raced off before they could see it.
While leaving, I overheard, "well it was a bit depressing," from someone's partner who didn't know what they were in for. They weren't wrong, but few bands deliver joy in misery like this one, and besides Ollie's dad jokes they were hard to fault.
