By Natalie Salvo
The Sydney music scene has received a number of heavy blows with the closure of the Hopetoun Hotel; Purple Sneakers vacating the Abercrombie; and talk of legal quibbles between the Annandale Hotel, local council and residents. Sure, a lot of people have shown their support, but its not much help without actual audience numbers. Hang your heads in shame, Sydney, because the Annandale Hotel was only half-full for Cloud Control and Leader Cheetah’s all-ages matinee show on Saturday. What you missed was two up-and-coming bands putting on a really enjoyable afternoon of entertainment that was worth far more than virtual signatures in the sky.
Many of the young punters had come down early to see Leader Cheetah, a quartet of Americana-sounding lads from Adelaide perform a 45-minute set. They began by playing some stray notes and letting these float over the crowd, earning a few woops of recognition. They played broody rock in the self-coined ‘satanic dungeon full of gollums’- a stark contrast to the blisteringly, hot day outside. The first song was brimming with fine harmonies lead by the Peter Garrett-like vocals of Dan Crannitch. Some interesting time changes followed, and made for a song a tad more special than just another pensive guitar rock number.
‘The Explorer’ coupled rolling drum beats with some almost surf-like guitar and sentiments that will resonate with the most apathetic youth: “You should never try.” Some blues riffs continued and it was almost like being tripped out in a fugue in the Arizona desert with a Cherokee Indian as a spirit guide. This was especially the case in the rock meets alt-country swagger of ‘Bloodlines.’
Things were taken up a notch as Dan Crannitch stood on the drum riser while performing. Not to be outdone, guitarist Dan Pash did the same during the finale, before jumping off in a dismount that would have earned a cool eight out of 10. They had delivered a solid set of classic sounding rock songs a few degrees of separation removed from the likes of The Eagles, et al.
It was nice to see the two acts supporting one another. Cloud Control came down to the Dale early to watch Leader Cheetah’s set and throughout the headliners, members of the support act came and watched at varying points. It was now time for the Blue Mountains’ finest, Cloud Control.
The set kicked off with ‘Meditation Song 2” sung virtually in a capella mode by Alister Wright (guitar/vocals) and Heidi Lenffer (keys/vocals). With minimal instrumentation provided by the former and some bass loops, it was oh so simple and yet really effective, just like The Cure’s ‘10:15 Saturday Night’ except that it was 2:30 Saturday afternoon. The pair were eventually joined on stage by Ulrich Lenffer (drums) and Jeremy Kelshaw (bass). ‘My Fear’ featured Heidi playing some lovely keyboard flourishes and was complimented by some soft rainbow lighting and smoke before the catchy, exuberant pop of ‘Gold Canary.’
‘Old Man & The River’ sounded like it boasted some theremin. It was really refreshing to see a band make the effort to add additional layers of sonic brilliance with percussion, Ipod loops and the sharing of backing and main vocals. All four have delightful voices but the combination of Wright and Heidi Lenffer was particularly noteworthy.
‘Ghost Story’ was a little more rocking but the pummeled drums were coupled with some eerie, screaming banshee tones. Other tracks included ‘Into The Line;’ ‘Just For Now’ (boasting some great bass solos last seen on The Cure’s biggest hits); Hollow Drums (a bonafide space-age classic) and ‘Vintage Books.’ The latter has hit single stamped all over it and was like dancing while consuming moon drops of picturesque colour and light.
‘This Is What I Said’ had a false start but this didn’t deter the band from pulling off another catchy, art rock song with soaring harmonies. ‘Buffalo Country’ was one part psychedelic trip and one part ode to Madness. Things were all brought home with some, shiny happy music in the form of the ironically titled, ‘Dark Cloud.’
There was no encore but it didn’t matter as this jovial band had been chattering to fans throughout the set and told them they’d be at the merch desk afterwards. They delivered on their promise and the down-to-earth four-piece should give themselves a pat on the backs for having played some of the sweetest, varied and enjoyable pop songs I’ve heard in some time. It is staggering to think that this group had put on such a full set, yet haven’t even released their debut album! But after this understated, intimate show at the Annandale, I’m sure all of these punters cannot wait to hear the record when it’s released next year.