Gig: Gentleman Reg/ Katie Stelmanis / Kids on TV

Gentleman Reg / Katie Stelmanis / Kids on TV

Buddies in Bad Times. Wednesday, May 20, 2009.

An afterparty for a screening at the Inside Out film festival, this listed "short sets" by three worthy artists for $5, which sounded like a good deal. But coming on the same night as the Peaches gig, I was unsure if I'd be able to take this in. But an early start time at the Phoenix meant that as I paid the cover and was pressing my way through the tightly-packed crowd at the back of the cabaret, Kids on TV were taking the stage, sorting out the technical issues before getting started. I was still reorienting myself and soaking in their fabulously elaborate stage getups — sort of an Arabian Nights kind of look — as they launched first into Whodini's "Haunted House of Rock".

I was distracted as I finally saw A., who'd found himself a good unobstructed spot near the edge of the stage, and at the song's end, I managed to move up to join him. From the sounds of it, the band was doing some new material, and working in their mellower, more pop-ish vein — no "Breakdance Hunx" to be found here, but rather a cover of Kate Bush's "Cloudbusting" with a backing choir joining them on the stage. And then, just as I was starting to feel settled in, it was all over. Although it felt like a bit of an unusual set from KoTV, it was good to see them on stage after a relatively large gap. Plus, it may well be a case of the band finding the right place and time to work out the quieter side in front of a crowd — I imagine we'll see more of the "pump-you-up" stuff when they play next month at Pride.

Although KoTV had their customary projections in action during their set, the visual element took centre stage as Katie Stelmanis took over. Armed only with her laptop and her always-excellent pipes, Katie sang in sync to videos for three tunes, opening with a cover of "Natural Woman", the video made by some high school fans from Denmark. She was then joined on stage by a trio of backing vocalists (two of whom I could not place — name names if you know them! — but I marked John O’Regan of the D'Urbervilles)¹ who added choral depth to two further selections, including her fab composition "Join Us". Good stuff. The latter two videos were by notable local artist Jesi the Elder.

And then Gentleman Reg took the stage for his three song set, playing crowd-pleader "The Boyfriend Song" sandwiched in between Jet Black standouts "Rewind" and "We're in a Thunderstorm", his keyboardist Kelly McMichael providing backing vox on the two newer selections. "Thunderstorm" was aided with by some understatedly deft work with his looping pedal. An utterly pleasing burst, but leaving me wanting more.

The night closed out with a vogueing demonstration from a crew called The House of Munroe, and it certainly amped up the party vibe with their kinetic breakdance-inspired work. As we left, A. said to me, "That was fun! The shows you drag me to never have anything like that." So take note, indie gigs: More vogueing!

A recording from Gentleman Reg's set can be found here.

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¹ Thanks to a commenter for pointing out that the singers were Emma McKenna and Carmen Elle.