I've waited for ages to see this band live. I finally got a chance for $10 and I'd been amped all week. The first supporting
act, Old Sound Central, blew me away. They were great musicians and had some very catchy songs. Evermore weren't even worth
the hype. I could only understand the lyrics to one song, and that was their radio release. The rest of the songs sounded
identical and the only hint of lyrics were the slurred mumblings of the lead singer. Little Birdy have a lot of talent. Their
melodies are great and just rocky enough for me to enjoy. The lyrics start to get a little forced after a while. I hate most
love songs, it takes a good band to pull off one I like. Little Birdy's entire set was love songs. This wore me a little thin.
Now on to the main act. Magic Dirt may have been quick to bugger off at the end of the set, but their music is still
beautiful. The set list was mainly new music, including a few unreleased tracks. I'd resigned myself to the fact that nothing
from Young and Full of the Devil was going to be played, but I expected a few more What are Rockstars Doing Today songs.
Competition Girl was one of the first songs played, no one in the crowd reacted to it. I doubt if half of them even
knew what it was. Most people down the front sang along to Pace It which was better known thanks to radio release.
I haven't heard many of the songs off the new CD yet so it was a bit of a learning curve for me. The pre-release tunes were
a nice touch though.
The main thing that really irked me was the crowd. A good rock show needs three things:
1. An awesome band with a lot of live talent
2. At least one showpony in the group
3. A good, preferably insane, crowd.
The crowd was seriously lacking. Because Magic Dirt have been somewhat classed as a chick's band, there was a disproportionate
number of handbag toting Barbie dolls and their boyfriends, who had been dragged kicking and screaming to the gig. Most of
the room was just standing there watching. There was no dancing, no jumping around, no singing. Usually the BOTH is one
giant mosh, but last night it was reduced to 5 rows. I wanted to jump around like a maniac, but no one else around me seemed
up to that. The sickening moment came when all the girls started dancing and singing to Plastic Loveless Letter.
The only song they knew was the one that had the most radio play. That would explain why most of the crowd looked like they
wanted to escape.
All in all, the music was spectacular and I enjoyed the night of live entertainment. It just would have been a lot better
without the crowd (or if Liam had showed up to jump around with me).
