Pumping Falling Off The Lavender Bridge in anticipation of Lightspeed Champion at the East Brunswick Club tonight, I realise I'm a bit behind the times given his more recent releases. Plural. Then I notice I was supposed to leave 20mins ago and hope I turned the lava lamp off as I skip out the door.

Bleeding Knees Club are up first and I notice they have found the drum kit they put a call out over the internet for earlier that day. Although as they joke a couple if songs in it's a bit on the tiny side. I'd heard good things about these two young chaps but not any of their stuff before tonight. They're a nice opening act for Lightspeed Champion given their current experience as naive youth as LC often sings of.

It's a short and sharp set, and the music is fun but not exciting tonight. Worth another try another time with a better crowd though.

The curtains are pulled back to Dev alone with guitar, long hair flowing, equally long flowing tassels from his cowboy shirt and a cover of the Divinyls' Boys In Town. Hilarious. I didn't know this was solo show though. Shame.

The crowd is reasonably packed back to the sound panel then rather sparse. People must still be recovering or broke from NYE be missing this show. Losers.

As a solo show the back up tape makes a couple of appearances but as much as Dev switches between instruments (acoustic and electric guitar, keyboard and a few others) and struts the stage it's nowhere near the full band show I saw a few years back and frankly a bit underwhelming for a Lightspeed Champion show.

He picks it up with a new song (apparently up on Myspace for months now, not that anyone has used Myspace in two years though), Galaxy of the Lost and another song which includes a distorted thrash session into a plucked guitar solo (I should probably know this song given the crowd reaction).

Dev finishes the set asking for anyone to sing along if they know the song and advising how brilliant the new Disney on ice show in Melbourne is before jumping into the crowd for the finale.

There doesn't need to be an encore to this set but there is, but after exiting stage left (where there is no exit) and he puts it to the crowd to choose tracks to play. They do, he obliges and that's the night.

-jon

Published at TheDwarf.com.au

Heading straight from work for a meal and a few drinks before the show, I see Lanie Lane enjoying a meal of her own with tour partner Jez Mead. She's a fox and after watching the video for the single she's touring 'What Do I Do' I'm a bit scared as she cuts into her food.

I head into the band room and opening act is local lad James Collins who politely says hello the audience, a handful of his friends plus me. He introduces his friend on accompanying acoustic guitar and they start out with dual acoustics spinning dark tales (a bit too loud loud because of the lack of bodies on hand to soak up the noise) which matched the weather change outside as the rain started.

With gruff vocals, James played a deep heart felt set ranging from southern swamp to gypsy folk and even including a track with additional ukulele from a friend in the crowd (who'd gone missing when they were first ready for the track). It's a nice start to the night.

Even though the purpose of this review is for Lanie Lane's What Do I Do single tour, she is actually supporting Jez Mead on his Town's Too Small national tour. Playing solo, Lanie slinks on stage and her sweet voice melts hearts as she welcomes the crowd, then her dulcet tones pierce like cupid's arrow as she opens her set.

Lanie sings about Tom Waits, her guitar, dedicates a blues song to a the metal head she met before the show, asks for some real noise from the crowd and with some chit chat is really engaging her audience. After a comment from Lanie that she hoped that guy on his phone was writing a nice review (which I obviously am) a friend of Jez's asked me to step to the back of the venue, but he later rebuilt bridges so we'll forgive him.

Finishing with an a capella version "What Do I Do", Lanie gets the whole crowd to sing and clap along for a brilliant live rendition that brings rapturous applause to conclude the set.

Lanie will draw comparisons with the likes of Amy Whinehouse, Duffy and locally Gabriella Cilmi, but Lanie is far more cute and fun.

Jez Mead is also playing solo and without previous knowledge of his work he sounds like the working man's John Butler. Losing a (fake) nail in the first bar of the first song he gets the superglue out to fix it, threatening Cat Stevens-like soft strumming otherwise.

With mic-ed up foot stomping, Jez drives an energetic pulse. His friends start dancing up a storm up the front which gradually gets all bums off the floor to join in.

Harmonica and violin are brought on stage for a few tracks. And the darling Lani Lane got on stage for a duet. Closing Jez breaks into a solo jam that drains the last of the crowds energy on the dance floor.

Overall a well planned line up and enjoyable evening for anyone (even that metal head I'm told).

-jon

Published at TheDwarf.com.au