DIED PRETTY...
PRETTY GREAT
Words: John McPharlin Pictures: The Barman
DIED PRETTY (single launch)
Friday November 3, 2000 @ Bar Broadway, SydneyThe scene was a refurbished Bar Broadway, where they've finally shifted the bar out of the middle of the room and put it into the corner where the old stage used to be, which makes for better acoustics and vastly improved sightlines. The occasion was a show (only the second this year) to launch the preliminary single from the forthcoming "everydaydream" album. The cast consisted of just Died Pretty with no support act. The atmosphere was tense with anticipation.
The new stage even has a set of curtains and the set began with DP's "Paint It Black..." playing as the curtains started to open, then stopped starting to open. A mild concern filtered through the audience, prompted by the fear that maybe we weren't going to get to see the band after all. After a good few seconds one of the bouncers exercised the "manual override option" and dragged the curtains apart to reveal... an empty stage!
The song played to its conclusion and then a clearly revitalised Died Pretty took to the stage. Ron Peno in particular seemed to be in an uncharacteristically cheerful mood (which unfortunately wasn't to last) and opened the batting for the home team by saying "Hope you enjoyed our first song, this next one's from the new album...". They then went into "Misunderstood", which is both one side of the double "A" sided single and the opening track of the new album. From then on the performance never faltered, even in the face of one or two brief technical dramas.
Although this was supposed to be a launch specifically for the single, they played 8 of the 10 tracks on the forthcoming album (and didn't play the bonus track on the single!?). "Misunderstood" was followed by "Burning Mad". On the first few playings of the album (although not yet officially released yet, you can nevertheless buy it direct from Citadel already), these were the two standout tracks for me, so it's not surprising that the band chose to begin the show with them.
What was surprising, but with hindsight shouldn't have been, was how good the other songs from the album sounded. Frankly, to begin with I had been a little taken aback at how austere and coldly techno the new album sounds in places and while others on the "Yesterday's Letters" Died Pretty mailing list have been lauding the new album as "some of the best songs ever written by the boys", I hadn't been completely convinced. However all the new songs work amazingly well when played live. Of course DP have always been a formidable live band, which makes their continuing refusal to contemplate a live album all the more puzzling.
Apparently some in the audience still weren't completely convinced though. Specifically the three drunks standing (but only just) in front of me. At one point they even tried to influence the performance by altering Ron's copy of the setlist, much to his obvious and entirely justified anger, and it was only after what sounded like a pretty unequivocal threat from bass player Robert Warren that they abandoned the attempt. The fact that it was my pen they were using, having grabbed it out of my pocket, leaves me feeling a little compromised as well, but I console myself with this thought: pens don't deface setlists, drunken morons (using pens) deface setlists... These three guys were the most eloquent argument for retroactive abortion that I have seen in quite some time.
Anyway, screw them; not even stupidity like that could spoil the evening. Right from the moment the curtains eventually parted it seemed likely that we might be in for something a little different, as I couldn't help noticing that the band's equipment was not set up the same way as usual. This time the keyboards were on the left hand side of the stage (as I faced it), with the bass between them and the drum kit, while Brett Meyer's amp was to the far right of the stage; normally Brett stands on the far left, with the keyboards on the right and bass next to them to their left. Ron of course was still in the middle, so effectively the band had revolved around him!
As the new material unfolded, the members changed positions to suit, demonstrating an organisational flexibility to match their musical flexibility: drummer Simon Cox either moving to the keyboard enclosure to work the drum machine or leaving the stage altogether when no drums were involved at all; Brett on occasion also swapping his guitar for keyboards (and only he and Ron remained on stage for "Call Me Sir").
Aside from the new songs there were also a few "oldies"; four interspersed seamlessly within the main set and four more as an encore, including a nice rendition of "Through My Heart" by Brett, though there was nothing prior to "Trace" (which is only fair as "Trace" has been unfairly neglected in recent years). Despite the fact that I stumbled out into the night with "Harness Up" still ringing faintly on my ears, when I got up this morning it was "everydaydream" that went into the CD player first, so I guess the night could be considered to have achieved it's intended objective of not only showcasing the new material, but also proving (as if proof were needed) that Died Pretty remain one of the most innovative, adventurous and exiting bands this country has ever produced.
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