Reviewed on Saturday March 19
Fresh from releasing their Kevin Parker-produced debut album on Friday, Koi Child blasted Newtown Social Club with warmth, heating the cool night right up.
Sydney collective Winston Surfshirt brought the funk early on. Powering through a bevy of tracks – including Mos Def’s ‘Ms. Fat Booty’, a number full of bubbling trombone solos and pert lyrics – the band had appreciative bodies filling the floor. Their easy-going mix of dub, funk and hip-hop sounds (to name but a few genres) and smoky Anderson Paak-like vocals may not be outstanding per se, but Winston Surfshirt’s fun delivery and stage presence proved a worthy support for Koi Child.
Kirin J Callinan’s ‘DJ’ set followed, and it’s best to leave the review short here. Sure, his ever-entertaining dance moves accompanied songs such as Santana’s ‘Smooth’ and the DJason remix of Frank Sinatra’s ‘New York, New York’ but the YouTube use and frequent breaks between songs killed the buzzy vibe Winston Surfshirt worked up beforehand.
A riff on instrumental album opener ‘Grease’ built into a neat crescendo for Koi Child, as all seven members squeezed on stage. An enthusiastic “Oh yeah!” from the crowd immediately reflected the room’s sentiment. Once the vocals kicked in, ‘Cruz’ Patterson, the man front and centre, bestowed his cool charisma upon the room, cracking open a can on the mic. From there, the jazz and words flowed furiously; single ‘1-5-9’ tapped in and the band’s trombonist whacked on a high vis vest and speed dealer sunglasses – things were most definitely on.
What followed was an impressive display of skill and passion, full of manic changes of pace, relentless flow from Patterson and an overall sharp, controlled tone that melded every instrument together harmoniously. As the 12am curfew loomed on their set, tracks including ‘Black Panda’ and The Prodigy’s ‘Breathe’ had the boys upping the pace. With two minutes to go, they returned to the stage to pump out a demanded encore, and the heated chorus at the centre of ‘Japes’ – “Go fuck yourself man we that new generation” – aptly filled the room.
While it’s hard to find mention of the band without the name of the Tame Impala mastermind nearby, Koi Child soon shouldn’t find that the case in the future after performances this tight.
Fresh from releasing their Kevin Parker-produced debut album on Friday, Koi Child blasted Newtown Social Club with warmth, heating the cool night right up.
Sydney collective Winston Surfshirt brought the funk early on. Powering through a bevy of tracks – including Mos Def’s ‘Ms. Fat Booty’, a number full of bubbling trombone solos and pert lyrics– the band had appreciative bodies filling the floor. Their easy-going mix of dub, funk and hip-hop sounds (to name but a few genres) and smoky Anderson Paak-like vocals may not be outstanding per se, but Winston Surfshirt’s fun delivery and stage presence proved a worthy support for Koi Child.
Kirin J Callinan’s “DJ” set followed, and it’s best to leave the review short here. Sure, his ever-entertaining dance moves accompanied songs such as Santana’s ‘Smooth’ and the DJason remix of Frank Sinatra’s ‘New York, New York’ but the YouTube use and frequent breaks between songs killed the buzzy vibe Winston Surfshirt worked up beforehand.
A riff on instrumental album opener ‘Grease’ built into a neat crescendo for Koi Child, as all seven members squeezed on stage. An enthusiastic “Oh yeah!” from the crowd immediately reflected the room’s sentiment. Once the vocals kicked in, “Cruz” Patterson, the man front and centre, bestowed his cool charisma upon the room, cracking open a can on the mic. From there, the jazz and words flowed furiously; single ‘1-5-9’ tapped in and the band’s trombonist whacked on a high vis vest and speed dealer sunglasses – things were most definitely on.
What followed was an impressive display of skill and passion, full of manic changes of pace, relentless flow from Patterson and an overall sharp, controlled tone that melded every instrument together harmoniously. As the 12am curfew loomed on their set, tracks including ‘Black Panda’ and The Prodigy’s ‘Breathe’ had the boys upping the pace. With two minutes to go, they returned to the stage to pump out a demanded encore, and the heated chorus at the centre of ‘Japes’ – “Go fuck yourself man we that new generation” – aptly filled the room.
While it’s hard to find mention of the band without the name of the Tame Impala mastermind nearby, Koi Child soon shouldn’t find that the case in the future after performances this tight.
