In my entire concert going life I don’t think I have ever been to a show where I didn’t know one song from either the support band or the headlining act and still thoroughly enjoyed it.
But, as is the case, there is always an exception to the rule, which for me came in the form of the recent IDLES Brisbane concert with Melbourne punk brats Pinch Points opening the night.
I had never heard of these guys before, which is yet another reason why people should ALWAYS try and make it for the full line-up of bands, no matter what the event.
Because you just never know what you might discover.
Pinch Points grabbed me from the outset, with their unashamedly Australian approach to their music and structure making them instant stars in my eyes.
They were young, brash, confident and respectful of their surroundings – despite the fact they were playing to a capacity crowd at one of Brisbane’s largest indoor venues in the Fortitude Music Hall.
Such was the strength of their 45-minute set, I felt compelled to track Pinch Points down for a chat – if only to congratulate them on a job well done.
I was lucky enough to corner three-quarters of the band in drummer Isabella Orsini, bass player Acacia Coates and guitarist Jordan Oakley, all of whom also lend vocals to the musical output that nestles somewhere between punk, rock and rockabilly with enough individual swagger to elevate their music into a plethora of contrasting genres that somehow manage to gel.
Not wanting to heap too much praise on the young band too early in the conversation, we start by pointing out the bleedingly obvious fact of how great a live unit British legends IDLES are.
“They were phenomenal,” Orsini agreed. “They had another level to their performance that I haven’t seen in such a long time, especially having a band from overseas coming to Australia to play a run of shows. It’s really cool to see.”
“It was awesome,” Oakley affirmed. “Everybody was loving it. It was so cool to see the passion in the crowd every night, you could see that they were a very special band.”
“I think we were all inspired by getting to watch them seven times in a row,” Coates added, laughing.
In the full interview, Pinch Points talk more about the run of shows, what sorts of things they learn as a young band from playing with established overseas artists, their use of Australian colloquialism in their music and where it comes from, having four members in the band capable of singing, how they work out vocal parts in the writing and recording process, the reception to this year’s album Process, how it was a musical leap forward for the band, their blending of genres and how they make it work, future plans and more.
