After a sold out show on Friday night, Perth’s San Cisco returned to 170 Russell for another near-capacity gig. They brought along fellow Perth locals Methyl Ethel and Crooked Colours, the latter of which got an especially rousing reception for their impressive brand of electronica.
Following the support acts, San Cisco strolled onstage to a thoroughly enthusiastic response. Kicking off with an old song, Golden Revolver from their first EP of the same name, the young crowd were immediately into it. Despite not dancing as much as usual, they made up for it by being extraordinarily vocal. Golden Revolver was well received, but unfortunately it suffered from poor mixing, which plagued the band for the entire set. It’s amazing how often a large-scale show will be marred by poor sound work. The drums reverberated too much and the lyrics were often indistinguishable, even if you knew the words.
Nevertheless, the band’s energetic enthusiasm made for a fun night of music. Songs from their latest album Gracetown were popularly embraced. Snow was a particular favourite, prompting the audience to again show off their vocal abilities. Too Much Time Together was also lapped up, and the album’s lead single RUN proved how tight the band are onstage. They make everything look effortless, and despite the sound issues, the result of this effortlessness was great sounding live music.
From a sonic standpoint, songs from the band’s debut LP sat nicely alongside the newer material – Beach and No Friends were particular standouts. Fred Astaire was the night’s final song. It’s such an infectious song that translated brilliantly to the stage. Frontman Jordi Davieson regularly thanked the crowd for their attendance and support on a cold Sunday night, and his humble demeanour felt genuine. While coming across as friendly and not at all arrogant, Davieson still pulls off a cool rock’n’roll swagger.
The sound let down the entire evening, no question, but the band can only control what they do on stage and they held up their end of the bargain extraordinarily well.
BY ALEXANDER CROWDEN
Photo by David Harris
Loved: Jordi’s genuine-ness.
Hated: Sound issues.
Drank: 1 CC & Dry (it was Sunday).
