Live Review: Rat Columns, Ghostdrums, Gilbert Fawn, DJ Jimmy's Choice

On an unfortunately rain-soaked Friday night, The Bird provided the perfect opportunity for music lovers to escape the cold and enjoy a great mix of music by some fine local talent. Despite being somewhat hampered by a bandaged right hand, DJ Jimmy’s Choice warmed the place up a bit with an upbeat and energising selection of dream-pop and post-punk tunes from the likes of Haunted Leather, Wet Hair, U2 and Lowlife.

The first of the live acts, Gilbert Fawn came onstage armed only with a Macbook full of samples and a bouzouki (a traditional Greek plucked guitar-like instrument for those not versed in European folk instruments). The young artist performed a fantastic set that saw him play against a backdrop screen showing footage from Chris Marker’s experimental documentary, Sans Soleil, while fusing eclectic samples of Russian Ital Disco, A$AP Rocky and the Ship To Shore theme with rich, dreamy melodies and chords Fawn looped while playing his bouzouki. Much of the set was devoted to songs from Fawn’s upcoming new release, which included Mouthful Of Birds, Endakis, In Excess, Russian Salad, Triple P and Virtue AP.

DJ Jimmy’s Choice returned on the decks while Rat Columns scribbled out the setlist for the show and got ready. The four-piece started with the chill-chorus-laden sounds of New Romans and Someone Else’s Dream, which unfortunately featured some slight sound issues that were eventually resolved by the time the band got to their fourth song, Don’t Have To Try. After that they were in fine form, continuing with Astral Plane, which showed off the great dual vocals of frontman David West and bassist Amber Gempton, before more of an audience gathered from outside for the spacey soul jam of Time’s No Vessel. The band followed with She Loves The Rain before finishing strong with Dream Tonight, which featured some brilliant ‘80s-inspired guitar work from West over a swell of airy synths and fast, frenetic drumming.

After another set by Choice that included Keni Burke and Nicolette Larson alongside Chris Isaak and Seal, Ghostdrums arrived to a small yet loyal crowd. Setting up his kit and sample pad before announcing he was just going to play for a bit and hope everyone enjoyed the set, he capped off the night with a strong set that saw him mix live drums with samples and reverb-laden synthesisers with great performances of Red Thread and Morning Sun.