Gig: Ratatat, Quan & Del Toro @ The Hi Fi 4/5/2009

Written on the 6th of May 2009 by The Professor

My first venture into Brisbane’s newest venue was impressive to say the least. Aside from the disappointment of not being able to check out the upstairs level the rest of the facility is world-class. Fantastic sound, plenty of room and great sightlines. The only point against the place (except for pricey drinks) was the crowd of rude hipsters that shoved and elbowed their way through the joint. But to the bands…

On a night where two out of the three bands are instrumental, you really notice the different approach of those bands that choose to eschew lyrics. Generally they fall into two camps, those who use the absence of singing to build rich soundscapes and aim for an otherworldly feel and those that are probably too stoned to sing.

Del Toro appeared to fall into the second category – and I mean that not as an insult but as an observation of the difference between their style and other instrumental bands. Driving beat, impressive basslines and, of course, a shitload of shredding. They even included a very fun cover of the Dr Who theme.  A very impressive group, albeit lacking a little in the antics department, a slight that cannot be levelled against the penultimate act – Quan.

A tight two-piece consisting of the former Regurgitator frontman and his drummer Katarina – they took the stage as their visual display boomed a Spanish dubbed excerpt from Jerry Maguire – “be my ambassador of Quan”. As we’ve come to expect it was an energetic show – with a punchy visual display and plenty of character from both Yeomans and the drummer. He looked to be really enjoying himself onstage – even having to restart a track because he was having too much fun doing call and response with the crowd. Quan apologised for his lyrical overload towards the end of the set – “Here I am in between two great instrumental bands and I’ve got all these lyrics. I just can’t shut the fuck up”. Tight, fun show – hopefully we see plenty more of this expat.

Ratatat, to return to my earlier distinction between instrumental bands, certainly fall into the first category. The soundscapes and sci-fi elements they create between the two of them are nothing short of amazing. Backed by an outstanding visual display they were everything a fan could hope for – animated, tight and right on the money as far as their setlist was concerned. They opened with the slow-burner ‘Shiller’, before delivering the majority of their latest album LP3 along with an excellent smattering of their past crackers like ‘Loud Pipes’ and ‘Tropicana’. The level of musicianship on their live show was great to watch, and enough can’t be said about the visuals they had as accompaniment. The expert use of the display was the icing on what was already an extremely well produced show – some of the sinister chop-ups of Abba clips added a macabre element, while the excellent Predator film clip for ‘Mirando’ somehow brought an absurd touch to the track. The rapturous crowd wouldn’t let them leave without an encore, delivered in full and rewarded with a huge ovation. Three thumbs up for the bands, the sound and the venue.