Live Review: Usurper Of Modern Medicine, Whipped Cream Chargers, Duck Duck Chop, IO - The Catfish

Once two-piece, IO, have finished setting up laptops and loop stations in The Catfish's band room, they get to work layering sound. The room is almost bereft of people as they begin, which doesn't help matters in the feedback department. Although guitar and saxophone add an organic element along with occasional keening vocals, the soundscape being created suffers from a poor mix and slightly-off timing. Hopefully the pair will work on ironing out the wrinkles. 

Next up is the experimental, noise-oriented Duck Duck Chop. The duo combine moments of ear-shredding fuzz guitar with hard-hitting drums. Dissonance and pregnant pauses are employed to dramatic effect during set opener Destroy Objects 1 & 2 and a pedal board provides aural backing as their show progresses. Set highlight comes in the form of Low Vibes, with its frenetic hi-hat rhythm and abrasive guitar. 

Ambling onto The Catfish stage (floor), Whipped Cream Chargers add a touch of swag to proceedings with their more conventional, and blues-driven, dynamic. Featuring more people in the group than the last two bands combined, various members take turns standing on a riser to ensure everyone has enough space. A teardrop axe and bowl-cut salad within the group complement their psych-rock sound, accentuated by a peppering of surf guitar and creeping bass. Singer, Sebastian Harrison-Naish, switches between playing keys and working the mic, breaking into a shimmy when the mood strikes. 

Having arrived in Melbourne from Sydney with only carry on gear due to airport ineptitude they are playing an “ultra stripped back super loose set”.

The majority of people in the crowd here tonight are from the support bands, unfortunately, but this isn't stopping Perth headliners Usurper Of Modern Medicine doing what they came here to do. Starting with the rollicking Motorolla Borealis from latest LP, Omniliberation, the group immediately face sound issues, which are a taste of hassles to come. Having arrived in Melbourne from Sydney with only carry on gear due to airport/airline ineptitude they are playing an “ultra stripped back super loose set”, which is a shame, given the wall of sound they would prefer to punch out. 

A screen backdrop features projected solarizing images that shift and blend as the band works within their restricted means. Deadreamers sounds skeletal compared to the LP version, and bassist/lead vocalist Steven Aaron Hughes' voice is swallowed up in the dry mix. Above Or Beyond is abandoned due to equipment failings but they suck it up and soldier on, finishing their set with Tangent Man. The most animated of the four acts tonight, UOMM should be commended for having the 'nads to play given their situation, and props to the guys for losing themselves in their work, regardless.