When Client Liaison spoke to Rolling Stone Australia ahead of their Brisbane performance for the Jim Beam Welcome Sessions, the duo were simple in their mission statement: “We’re going to pump it up,” said keyboardist Harvey Miller. “We’ll be bringing a bit of heat and just trying to elevate the DJ set a bit beyond dudes standing behind the decks.”
And pump it up they did. On Saturday, July 16th, the Melbourne outfit took to the stage at Brisbane’s Buffalo Bar for the second of three live shows held as part of the Jim Beam Welcome Sessions.
Combining first-class live music with refreshing bourbon drinks, and offering audiences the rare chance to experience acclaimed acts in a different light as they play intimate sets, the atmosphere was right for Client Liaison‘s DJ set over the weekend.
“There’s nothing worse than hearing someone whinge about how, ‘Oh, that person isn’t playing an instrument. They’re just standing there playing other peoples’ music and they’re just pushing buttons,’” Miller explained recently.
Together, the pair’s musical influences traversed a wide range of artists, including the likes of Fatboy Slim, The Chemical Brothers, and The Prodigy, and even some of the Modular indietronica artists such as Cut Copy, Midnight Juggernauts, and The Presets.
So of course it makes sense for a group like Client Liaison to head up the second edition of the Jim Beam Welcome Sessions, sharing with crowds what it is that makes them so unique, and using their own music to bring people together in a communal fashion. After all, it’s at the very heart of their own musical upbringings.
(Photo: Mitch Lowe)A staple of the Australian music scene for over a decade now, the Client Liaison story is one that goes back far longer, with Miller and vocalist Monte Morgan having known each other since their teenage years. However, while their contemporary sound is one far slicker and more structured than a DJ set might imply, the pair have long been vocal supporters of turntablism.
Thus, with the band so eager to get before a live crowd and engage with them as only they know how, it’s only fitting that a group as musically diverse and captivating as Client Liaison would be suited for a three-hour DJ set, allowing them to get back to their musical roots, while also remaining true to the very ethos of what the Jim Beam Welcome Sessions are about – bringing people together and underlining all the good times that follow.
As crowds poured into the Buffalo Bar, they were met with the familiar motifs of the Jim Beam Welcome Sessions.
Freshly-poured drinks, good food, smiling faces, and the afternoon sun all preceded the main event, with Miller and Morgan taking to the stage for an immersive and eclectic hour-long DJ set.
And of course, it wouldn’t be a Client Liaison DJ set without a few extras thrown into the mix, with Morgan even getting out amongst the crowd to deliver oysters. In turn, it gave fans direct access to the band themselves, allowing them to get up close and personal, rubbing shoulders with Miller and Morgan, taking photos with the pair to capture their experience, and conversing with them in a manner rarely seen by other artists.
The Jim Beam Welcome Sessions kicked off last month with a mesmerising set from Flight Facilities, and are set to continue on into next month, wrapping up with a final show at Melbourne’s The Hop Bar at Beer DeLuxe, Fed Square, where Aussie chart-toppers The Veronicas will perform an exclusive set.
Tickets for the final instalment are up for grabs now, with full details on how to win access to this exclusive event below.
Jim Beam Welcome Sessions
The Veronicas
Saturday, August 20th
Beer DeLuxe Fed Square, Melbourne, VIC
Tickets: Jim Beam Welcome Sessions
