While Pet Conspiracy were over in Pudong playing around with welder's masks, sparkly cloaks and whips, and Voodoo Kungfu were performing what looked like Texas Chainsaw Massacre live, The Fever Machine released their debut LP at Yuyintang with a straight up rock show. There were no fireworks, no theatrics - just solid musicianship and The Fever Machine playing their no-nonsense rock 'n' roll to an appreciative crowd.Boys Climbing Ropes had kicked the night off, playing a set of mostly new material. They slipped an old favourite in toward the end, 'Whale Song', but the rest of the songs were presumably what we'll hear on that split record with X is Y after the summer. The crowd was still a little thin on the ground when they opened, but they blasted through a strong set regardless. Credit to them too for appreciating one of the key qualities in a support act: brevity.
The Beat Bandits were up next and played a solid set as well, albeit one familiar to anyone who's seen them before. People still lap up their cover of 'Whatcha Gonna Do About It' though, and why not.
And then came The Fever Machine. As I mentioned last week, the physical CD wasn't available at the show (the band had a contingency in place immediately), but they didn't let that throw them. They played their way through the album tracks with the professionalism and skill that anyone who has seen them play over the last year or so has come to expect. There was showmanship for sure, but they're a band who don't dress their music up particularly, they just lay it out there. And the crowd loved it, particularly a group of three guys at the front who stripped off (Fire in the Hole?) as the riffs built up.
If you haven't got on it yet, check out the mono version of Living in Oblivion right here and I think I'm right in saying that The Fever Machine have been added to the bill for Proximity Butterfly's show this Friday at YYT so you've another chance to catch them before they head off touring for the summer.
Photos are pending, my camera's a bit screwed at the minute....
Dear Friends, Bloggers and Trusted Media Contacts:
The long wait, pain and struggle are all over; The Fever Machine's Living In Oblivion is finally ready in the physical format, free from errors and glitches.
Thank you all for bearing with us during the last week, we are extremely excited to have this album all wrapped up, in the can and out in time for our show tonight with Proximity Butterfly from Chengdu and Uprooted Sunshine at YYT.
Anyone who was at the show last week can simply redeem their voucher for a copy of the album.
We will also leave copies at YYT so if people can't make it tonight, they can always get their copy in the future. We'll also send future updates about where else people can get the album.
Thanks again for your support, we look forward to a great show tonight, an exciting summer tour and new adventures and music in the fall.
Until next time . . .
. . . The Fever Machine