The Steffan van Soest Hit Machine

alt title: internet trolls and the girls that love/hate/stalk them*

Well, one band member apologised in advance for the self-indulgent nature of the second set, another band member apologised for all his bum notes, & when my Chch host asked about the gig he told me he'd heard it was "long" so I'm not sure whether my starry-eyed delight was due more to the performance or the jagermeister shots I'd been imbibing. Granted, I flew right across the country for this gig, so I was bloody pleased to get two sets' worth for my fly-buys, guitar-wankery or no.

No clue how the previous gigs at Al's Bar & the Dux had gone, the crowd at this one was sparse, evidently friends and hardcore hangers-on (and me, I guess). There was an awful lot of mooching around went on, the support band had to play early and leave abruptly because they were playing the uni battle of the bands that evening as well. I'm pretty sure they left before three-quarters (err..four-fifths?) of the main act had even arrived.

Anyway, the gig was ace, nice & thrashy & bouncy & just a little silly, with a couple of shoegazers nestled into the middle of the second set. Not being a trainspotter I have no setlist, I hate trying to describe music anyway, and truth be told, I was a late-adopter & don't know shit about the history of this particular band (except that which I have osmosed from obsessive googling over the last three-plus years*). Best guess: the first set - a full five-boy array (spandau ballet? frankie goes to hollywood?) - comprised the songs still in circulation by the current three-piece, and the second set - original lineup only - was an exercise in nostalgia.

The support band, Denmark Street had all the swagger of Led Zep, and the guitarist could (and did, a number of times) play his guitar behind his head. The songs were fine, but somehow there's still something lacking, perhaps just experience. Apparently they came third in the uni BOB.

(* As for the Internet Connection, we're all buddies now, how cosy. In retrospect it seems a bit dorky just how much energy I've invested in a group of people I don't even know, but the music was damned fun, and I got to see the Good Christchurch; it's a relief to know there is one o' those, actually.)

The Steffan van Soest Hit Machine Re-Reunion (Part III of 3)
supported by Denmark Street
Jetset Lounge
May 25, 2007.

Earworms: Mexican Man; an utterly incoherent version of Jesus Christ Superstar.
Rating: three ginga beards and a 'fro