Review – The Basics
Kicking off the Sessions 2014 – where, for the next three weeks, the versatile Space Theatre will play host to intimate performances by an eclectic array of musicians from around the globe – was Melbourne retro rock-band The Basics, featuring the world’s most humble international superstar, Wally De Backer (Gotye).
De Backer could easily traverse the globe for the next few years, packing immense venues on the strength of his mega-selling hit “Somebody I Used to Know”. But as I watched Australia’s most successful male artist since Rick Springfield (lofty company, I know) sip from a pineapple juice fruit box, whilst patiently signing autographs after the show, I suspected that a Kanye West life of excess isn’t really his style. While his Gotye alter ego was partly responsible for the large and enthusiastic audience, The Basics is a separate entity, entirely capable of entertaining purely with their own back catalogue.
Most of the crowd were sitting on the floor as The Basics took the stage, but within a few songs the band had coaxed all but a few to their feet, and by the final song the audience was dancing and hooting in unison. The Basics, consisting of De Backer, Tim Heath and Kris Schroeder, have been active since 2002 and cannot easily be pigeon-holed within any particular genre. Within their 90 minute set they waded out into psychedelic rock, reggae, ska, outback country, as well as their new material of the indie rock variety. Interspersed between the original material were energetic and authentic cover versions of rock classics such as “All Day (And All of the Night)” (the Kinks), “Roxanne” (the Police) and “Proud Mary” (Creedence Clearwater Revival). Helped along by their obvious love of the material, the band made these covers their own.
The Basics current tour is their first in approximately three years, with Schroeder having spent the intervening years living in Kenya, and the rust occasionally showed – band members asking what chord that song starts with and so on. And Schroeder had apparently hidden the set list from Heath, prompting the regular “what song’s next?” query. But on that list were the majority of the band’s most successful songs, including the rollicking “Rattle My Chain”, “So Hard For You” and “With This Ship”. The band also played two new tracks, one of which was a stinging political anthem commenting upon Australian attitudes to asylum seekers. It will be fascinating to see what direction the band takes from here. Are they the new Midnight Oil?
Apart from the band, the other star of the evening was the venue. The size, lighting and sound quality combined to make for an ideal concert space. Perhaps the only gripe is that the distance to the bar was further than in most live music venues, but given that each performance is scheduled for just a little over an hour, only the more serious drinkers would worry about this. For the next three weeks, the Space is the place to be.
