THE RED PAINTINGS + DEAD INSIDE THE CHRYSALIS
HQ
Saturday, 15th of April
This was my first time inside Headquarters in Camperdown. A small, intimate venue with a bar that changes colour quite vividly, which makes a very visually entertaining permanent fixture.
The sound quality was absolutely spot on, due to a fantastic sound guy. Dead Inside the Chrysalis have a brilliant stage presence which is only enhanced by their cyber-goth attire. So, although the band would make absolutely awesome action figures, no plastic figurines could capture the vivacity of the band, especially that of the particularly lively lead singer. Samples and loops fitted in perfectly with the music and added to the science-fiction theme of the band. Equally dark goth rock and neon glam fun, these freakish musicians create energetic melodic mutant mayhem.
The final song ended up with many fans on stage and "partying like it's 2099"!
http://www.deadinside.com
http://www.deadinside.com/main.php?x=forumtopic&tid=15
The Red Paintings props included Elliott the Alien and the Holy Virgin Mother Mary. Visual artists painted on canvas at each ends of the stage while the band played. The face-painted hat-wearing drummer was extremely skilled on his white drum-kit. Violinist, Ellen Stancombe, and Cello player, Wayne Jennings, were not only dressed in traditional Japanese costumes, but moved with the same grace as geisha and kabuki performers too. Though the bass player was also dressed as such, she moved without the stoic disposition.
The song "Dead Adults" (from the Walls EP) was dedicated to Mark Ryden, whom Trash McSweeney (vocalist/guitarist) considers the Leonardo DaVinci of the 21st Century, which is quite a plausible statement if you've seen Ryden's artworks. "Just People & Leaves", "The Streets Fell Into My Window", "Walls" were also highlights for me. There was a bit of added "fuck" placement thrown into the songs lyrics at various points, which although amusing, kind of distracted from the songs slightly. Several new songs were played from the forthcoming CD which will have a robot theme and Trash told the audience that they would be bringing talking robots on their next tour to Sydney, which will be in June, after the release of the next CD, Destroy the Robots out Saturday 6th of May.
The Red Paintings finished their set with their cover of "Mad World" by Tears for Fears.
I know this will perhaps anger many fans and band members by saying this, but out of all the bands I've seen this year thus far (which would be over 40 in the past four and half months), The Red Paintings gave the best performance of the highest quality. Yes, even better than Cog. And both bands have huge international potential, for they can compare to the finest international bands in the world today.
http://www.theredpaintings.com
From the perspective of Trash McSweeney, quote:...show 3. The Sydney show, well this was a funny one we role up at the venue and there’s a small stage and pretty bad PA I plug my guitar in and a guy sitting down tells me to go fuk myself, im like no thank you then he gives me a few more words of wisdom and I decide to mute my guitar. 2 mins later the guy falls of his chair and smacks his head down on the wooden floor I witness the whole thing I just stood there looking at his 70 year old body. Bar staff pick him up and send him home. Anyway I decided to play a lot of older and new songs for this show, the ones I have left behind which is nice. I wrote a new song called ‘some are dead that fall’ which for me was a highlight to play im really loving the drums on this one so simple but so nice really reminds me of winter and the cold cold breeze when I was in china. We were lucky to have a Sydney band called 'dead inside the chrysalis' open up for us, they were crazy kids and were really nice to us all http://www.theredpaintings.com/v2/tashjournal.htm
http://theredpaintings.proboards45.com/index.cgi?board=photos&action=display&thread=1145182065
