Walking through Hudson Ballroom ahead of Morning Harvey’s headline show was a strange experience. First you entered a room of dirty DJ music, and then passed through a black door to find a dingy cave of rock’n’roll.
The claustrophobic room not only contained a sound system so impressive that your ears were in danger of exploding, but it also made for a gig so intimate that your view was likely to be obscured by a number of groupies.
The Morning Harvey boys themselves were clad in a monochromatic scheme of 50 shades of grey, and needed only berets to be easily mistaken for college students reciting drawling poetry in a pretentious cafe. Their dark attire and stoic exteriors matched their brilliant, messy rock sound, which seduced the crowd into a slow sway along with a few head bops.
The Brisbane lads don’t allow their good looks to deter from their excellence. Lead singer Spencer White had a sensuous croaky voice, and sung like he was making drunk love to the microphone as well as dancing la salsa with it. Bassist Steve Kempnich AKA Fabio Lanzoni played simple yet essential bass notes, while hidden behind a full head of hair was James Griffin on lead guitar rocking out. Drummer Jackson White banged out the beats on top of a Persian rug, whilst guitarist Aimon Clark lost himself… as in, he didn’t know which direction to face lost.
They played a nine-song set containing mostly wicked new tunes. The grungier track ‘Holy Gun’ stood out with hard and fast-paced guitar riffs that periodically changed to slow and soft, which not only threw you off but also worked as a duo better than Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee.
Both ‘Smith Street Swap Meet’ and ‘Pinch Me Velvet’ had a Dandy Warhols vibe, which explains why Morning Harvey have toured nationally with the Oregon rockers. But for now, Morning Harvey wrapped up the gig with fan favourite and electro pop tune ‘Susanne Monday’. The air was hot and steamy, the music dreamy, and once again, Brisbane brought the goods.
Morning Harvey played Hudson Ballroom on Saturday May 20.
