Decoder Ring

I went to a show on Saturday night, it was unlike my typical place of outing. The fact that it was $0 was definitely a plus however the price didn’t reflect the class of the venue. Over the past couple of years Sydney Town Hall has been being restored to its 19th century beauty and my ‘free’ show as it turned out was the re-opening night. The hall was quite extravagant, red carpet and the whole bit. Me in my recently hand sewn dress certainly didn’t expect this welcome usually its a flick of the id followed by a dark room full of loud music and black dressed young people. While the older crowd of pensioners and ‘comfortable’ thirty something couples didn’t appreciate me I appreciated both the hall and the music.

I didn’t mind those who were playing, Decoder Ring, on third, probably had the most to show for themselves.

I saw Jack Ladder first who has definitely evolved from the previous times I’d seen him. Ladder had a bigger band with a more eerie feel. I felt like their lengthy instrumentals created a more full sound. Although, my thoughts on Ladders music changes could also be due to the size and depth of the hall, the huge space possibly gave for a more epic experience. Jack Ladder’s massive masculine voice really drives the show but it was the other guitarist that I liked, his stage antics were so awesome he kept me glued. The jezebels were enjoyable, catchy, I will say though, if the main singers voice wasn’t so interesting the band would have fallen into the shadows for me a while ago.

I was so drawn to Decoder Ring at first they set a mood that had you mesmerized. I connected with the style change; a burst of echoic ambient noise . When they started to play I was really concentrating I almost needed to get in a trance like state to take in all they were offering the audience. They are the type of band that give you space to take your own meanings from their songs, this was suggested by the lack of lyrics and the abstract images displayed on a big screen behind them. They were entertaining, I particularly liked the drums, I think they were essential to my interest in the bands sound. Without the strong loud beats of the drums they could have become a bit wishy washy. The drums were defiantly stopping them from getting too carried away into a wanky routine.

I did like them, though, I got bored as the set went on, there was no speaking or words of any kind nor was there any differentiation between songs to wake me up a bit. To be fair words aren’t always essential and the running together of songs can sometimes really work, but in the case of Decoder Ring, I had friends around me, was easily distracted and lost interest. I do like the raw anger in a band a lot too and the personalization of songs, ie an artists experience and personality coming out of something they create. Where as I felt Decoder Ring (not in a bad way) were more of a performance to be experienced like you would a fixed piece of art.