We Review Alpine @ the zoo Brisbane
Who: Alpine
Where: The Zoo, Brisbane
When: Saturday 18.08.2012
Prior to yesterday, I didn’t know Alpine. Not really, anyway. Unbeknownst to me, I apparently watched them from side of stage at Splendour in the Grass last year and thought they were ‘sick’. But really, I was probably caught up in the moment and thought being side of stage and the promise of full strength drinks was sick.
I gave Alpine my undivided attention only hours before they took the stage. I was pleasantly surprised and I was excited for the gig. They sounded like they’d be a hoot to dance to. They did not disappoint there.
Georgi Kay and Clubfeet were the supports. Georgi Kay graced a quiet venue with her sweet voice and Clubfeet opened to a dispersed crowd. A very drunk dad-looking guy took use of the empty space with his moves, encouraging a packed dance floor by the fourth song. I enjoyed this band and they really excited the crowd. The singer had a great voice you got to appreciate without being mass-produced, the bassist had cool glasses and they all had a go of the tambourine, to keep it fair. Clubfeet were a highlight of the evening for me, as well as for the drunk girls next to me, discussing which band members they would “do.”
There was no calm before the storm before Alpine played. The aftermath of Clubfeet and the anticipation of the headliner created one over-excited crowd. My friends and I were right at the front as I refused to move from my good photo spot, but there were also die-hard fans fighting us for our prime position. We had some very drunk biddies bump and grind up against us (fair enough, Coolio was on) and we kept being thrust forward by the pushy masses. A girl behind me spent the half hour proving she is Alpine’s biggest fan like there ever was, like ever; “I’m going to sing every single lyric of every single one of their songs!”. Please don’t. Alpine were going to be made very welcome.
The band casually entered the stage and began their hour set with Lovers. The front women…girls? immediately captivated me. They’re the kind of girls that girls get girl-crushes on. They both sported some kind of jumpsuits, glitter, great hairstyles and futuristic-pixie moves. This made for quite the stage presence. I wasn’t the only one intrigued by them, and the crowd weren’t shy at showing it.
The second song was Hands, an appropriate name as they use them a lot. It was very entertaining but made for a lot of ‘get-out-of-my-face’ photos.
The 6 piece come together to make some nice sounds. My new girl crushes, Lou James and Phoebe Baker have sweet, soft, mesmerising vocals that really compliment each other. They sing to an ensemble of synths, guitar, bass, boppy beats and a drummer having a bloody great time. Every now and again, there is the use of a triangle, and that’s always a fun time.
Sometimes you don’t know if you want to close your eyes and sway to the vocals or ‘get hectic’ to the rhythm of the music. Whatever your moves are, they’re a good band to bring them out to.
That being said, the fans were enclosing on me and I had to retreat from the front after the first few songs. The girl behind me wasn’t singing but I’m pretty sure she was about to explode and I’d have innards all over me. My cynicism aside, they were labelled on of the best audiences Alpine has ever had, so kudos for that, Brisbane.
Alpine gave the standard I was expecting. Fun, energetic and something you’d want to dance to and dance a lot to. Especially if you were wasted. I wasn’t wasted. I may be a little blinded but, I have to admit I found their music a tad repetitive. Not saying it’s bad, it’s still fun music and if you were out to have a good time, you would have had one.
I did notice a change of tempo in the middle of the set, which they increased again by playing Gasoline. This was a crowd favourite. I was towards the back by now but could see a sea of waving (if that’s a pun, it’s not intended) and cheering hands at the front. I’m about one metre tall so there were probably three times the hands. I think they should have left this song for their encore, it was the best response they got.
Villages was the ‘last’ song, followed by Icypoles as an encore. Maybe I just have a thing against seemingly unappreciative crowds, but many people left and there wasn’t a great applause after their encore and I felt the night would have ended on a higher note if they wrapped up with Gasoline. But that didn’t happen.
Although absolutely no recollection of them came back from Splendour 2011, I understood that I would have had a good time and ironically, one of the notes I put in my phone was that they were “sick”.
A is for Alpine and A is for (pretty) Awesome.
Aimee Catt - AAA Backstage
