Gareth Liddiard (The Drones) @ Northcote Social Club 23-04-10

If you take away Gareth’s Liddiard’s shady band mates then it seems you also take away all the mystery surrounding Gareth himself. Playing alone, his usual brooding stage persona is replaced with a warm, funny and genuinely chilled personality.  Happy to explain the meaning behind songs and interact with a very vocal crowd at the bedroom vibed Northcote Social Club. “You smile too much!” yells out one punter, “That’s a truly awful thing to say to someone, it’s like telling someone to stop being happy” replies Liddiard, with a smile on his face before launching into another song.

Playing a set mostly consisting of songs from The Drones it was interesting to hear the loud, full arrangements stripped back to only vocals and guitar. Liddiard is easily able to switch between easy banter and tortured howling without appearing trite. The guitar being his only accompaniment shows what fantastic vocal range he has and really allows the brilliant post-colonial lyrics to shine through.

He did play one new song, assumedly from his upcoming solo album. He explained it was about Charles Blondin, a French tightrope walker who walked across Niagara Falls. It didn’t exactly stray from Liddiard’s typical style but I look forward to hearing a recorded version and looking over the lyrics, something that seemed a little more abstract than usual.

Liddiard played a long set, probably due to him stopping to chat after each song, although luckily his banter was almost as entertaining as the music. It was great hearing stripped back versions of “The Locust” and the sublime “Jezebel”. An entertaining night in with Gareth Liddiard.

The Drones – “Your Acting’s Like the End of the World” mp3