Cool Perth Nights 01.07.11

Sugar Army at Amps

Transcription of audio review, obviously to the sounds of 'Choade My Dear' by Connan Mockasin.


"so, um… last wednesday night i went to… my most favourite show of 2012… and possibly my most favourite show in my whole life. um… it happened because my friend emlyn was over here from tasmania and melbourne… um… you know, the dole funds him to travel around and ah he wanted to play a show while he was here and i said "maybe you should play at magnolia's", which is matt aitken's back shed and so… that's what he decided to do, and his slogan he said was "come rush to central bush", which i don't really understand, but that was how he tried to get people to come along… um… 

so then on tuesday night before the show, um, i was at my new friend drage's place and drage plays in mercy mercy and the success of satan or the success of saturn, depending on where you look, and ah… yeah i said to him "do you want to play tomorrow night", because ah… yeah, there was no-one else playing with emlyn and i didn't know if i should ask him, i didn't know if he would come, but um, yeah he sayed yes… and i messaged matt and he said yes, even though matt didn't know drage really, and drage didn't know matt, and drage didn't know emlyn and he didn't know what magnolia's was but he still said yes which was a very good thing. and i was very happy because, one time a long time ago, i saw mercy mercy and the success of satan play at the bird and i was… yeah that was one of the best things i ever saw and, you can just kind of tell like by looking at drage and talking to him for a few minutes that his songs would be amazing and, yeah they are. 

so anyway, um, on wednesday night i went and picked up drage and his friend and took them to magnolia's and i was a bit scared at first cos it looked like there was no-one there and i was going to feel embarrassed but, um, matt was there making jaffles… he'd ahh… yeah messaged me earlier to say like "should i make smores or toasted sandwiches?" which was a pretty nice message to get. so, yeah then we went into the shed and there were people there, there was like… i dunno maybe like, six or seven people there and people with beards, it was mainly guys and… my friend eliott was there and i was happy cos, um i got to sit next to him, and ah, you know like play with his beard a bit and stuff. 

and um… yeah, then… the first person to play was drage and he didn't even bring a guitar, um, but… cos he doesn't have a guitar i think… and ah so he used peter bibby's guitar and, in fact it's a guitar that drage had made a song about which he sung, and ah yeah as soon as he started playing like, at first it was hell harsh it was just through this tiny tiny little amp in the tiny shed, but then like, maybe one and a half songs in, like… everything seemed to settle down and it was just the most beautiful thing i ever heard… his songs are so amazing, like… every word is the right word and a surprising word, and every phrase is really… um… yeah, just just right you know like…  "every man has his price…" no… "every man has a price, mine is five"… i can't tell you any other words to any other songs but… yeah just trust me it was amazing, and the rain was um, coming down. 

and um… yeah i think everyone was very transfixed you know… and the whole time i kind of felt like i was about to cry  but also i was way too happy to cry… um… so yeah, that's how it made me feel… and… yeah, then he sort of stopped and then i think people made him play more, which was… really good because… i could have listened to a hundred more songs… and, while he was playing i was like,  even though i know how amazing emlyn is, i was like oh no how is emlyn going to be able to like, play as good as this and as amazing as this… but then after the break and everything and then when emlyn started… like, from the first song, it was… just as amazing… like, i already knew emlyn's songs were good, but the ones that he played were… just the right ones and, just his voice in that room, and… you know i could see like drage digging on him like i could see him digging on drage when he played and um… yeah like all his songs are sort of… i don't know some of them are kind of funny but… they're pretty sad and… full of everything good too… and ah… yeah then emlyn kind of finished a few times and people made him play more and more and… one song, like… about… um… ants like had sort of a ant solo in it… and… other songs like… um… people sort of joined in a little bit even though they didn't really know the songs and… then one of the songs towards the end um… yeah it was… so beautiful, everyone was really quiet but there was… lots of water on the floor from the rain, and drage was kind of like, making a little drum beat, just very lightly with his foot in a puddle, while emlyn was playing… and, yeah it was just like a million you know… love hearts flowing between them of like, understanding and musical… love i guess. 

and yeah, i heard drage saying to emlyn afterwards how much he liked it and just… he was saying "oh i can't say how good it was, just that i was like, deep in it, man", and yeah… and ah… then um… then… at the end, after they finished playing, like some really weird thing happened where matt aitken… got up to the microphone and just started kind of talking and also like… um… just smoking a cigarette into the microphone and everyone was just listening to the sound of the cigarette… burning… which sounds like really stupid, but it was so nice… like… it was just this… very special thing and i was kind of waiting for… it to be sixteen people there because… i have this song called sixteen of us and… that number of sixteen is a special number for me of people, and i kept counting and counting, cos a few people came later and… until the end i thought there was just fifteen people there and i was like, oh well that's alright cos god is the sixteenth, but then… when i went back through and like… thought of all the names of the people that were there… it was actually sixteen people.       

and… um… yeah… so, that's my favourite show that i ever went to… and there's a recording of it… some of it but… obviously… like… that's never going to be as good as the real thing… and… yeah… that's the end of my review." 


CPN Drage Lyon and Emlyn Johnson at Magnolia's Wed 20 June 2012

Amber reviews; Sean O'Neill & Solar Barge at the Bird; SUFFA at Subiaco Farmer's Markets 29 September 2012; AND Mercy Mercy & the Success of Satan, Pete Bibby, Pete from Sonpsilo Circus at Mojos Bar 30 September - ALL IN SONG!

CPN SUFFA at Subiaco Farmers Markets 29 September 2012

Amber reviews Stereoflower, Dust & slightly mentions her own performance at the Velvet Lounge Friday, Nov 23 & then moves on to review Hamjam, Doctopus & the Growl at the Bird Saturday November 24.