Hadouken! @ HiFi (07/08/2008)

I can’t be sure, but I suspect there was a school excursion to see Hadouken! on August 7. As a loose line of ten year olds (who had clearly excavated all the 80’s getup from their folks’ closets) nonchalantly lined up outside the Melbourne venue, I took my place next to the cool kids and folded my arms.

Opening for Hadouken! were supporting group Peacocks, who quickly caught the attention of many a hormonal ear with their booming FX of a female orgasm. Although in all fairness the rhythmic moaning was well mixed, it served as more of a band proclamation than a music intro: OUR MUSIC IS ABOUT SEX. It sure was. Clad in skin-tight lycra and drowning in glitter (with the inexplicable exception of drummer and almost hidden bassist), the group belted their lyrics about taking it all off, hitting it up, and doing it twice to a bewildered crowd. Each band member openly competed for stage space as they tentatively waded through harmonies, making their refusal to pay any attention to each other painfully audible. Peacocks’ statement was clear but ultimately missed the mark; lead vocalist Aaron Shanahan seemed to be channelling more Freddy Mercury than Jake Shears in his sheer leopard print tights and studded leather jock strap. For a group pushing their sexuality so much they should probably work on being more sexual and less crass. I guess the performance could be likened to playing music through two stereos at the same time. And parading around them in your underwear.

Thankfully, Mission Control dared to delve a little deeper. A kind of Primal Scream homage, Mission Control boasted hugely impressive hooks (particularly Innerspace) and clearly put a great deal of thought into their music. So much so, in fact, that vocalist Lodi Zambruno and bassist Tyrell Zuckerman seemed immovably affected – almost drugged – by it. Sparky Preston certainly lifted the energy on stage with his enthusiastic McCartney stylings on second guitar, although even the most energetic of performers would have had a tough time rousing the rest of the band. Aside from this minor lull, these guys are an exciting group to listen to and had their lesson in psychedelia down.

Finally, a herd of 80s cardigans packed themselves up close to the stage as Hadouken! threw greasy slabs of beefy bass against the back wall of the HiFi. From the first moments of their opening song Get Smashed Gate Crash , the band roused an army of convulsing go-getters practically wet with rebellion as they chanted along to “We are the wasted youth, and we are the future!” Massively surprising, though, was the extreme level of control that vocalist James Smith had over his performance. Motionless to the point of being stoic, Smith stood wrapped around the mic stand with his eyes closed as he hurled lyrics into the crowd with the ease of The Streets. Amazingly, he wasn’t lethargic. He was dramatic, as was the entire band as they hammered their fingers and fists into their instruments. Alice Spooner showed us some of the most aggressive keyboarding I’ve seen in a while! Having expected a bunch of bad-ass Brits arrogant with angst, I was hugely impressed. This measured intensity continued through obvious crowd favourites like Crank It Up and That Boy That Girl, boasting an assortment of tempered profanities.

The show was pretty much a big fat crescendo from the word ‘fuck’. Hadouken! showed us their (surprisingly) insightful side with fiscal observations in Spend Your Life, and just as we may have thought Daniel Rice on guitar would have to bear the brunt of the moshing while his singing counterpart stood embracing a mic stand, Smith came to life like a budget Frankenstein movie and lifted himself onto two fallback amps, rousing wild stomping and cheering from below. It was bloody fun to watch. The rest of the set saw Smith freely throwing himself around the stage, climbing on and off the bass drum at his leisure.

Closing the gig, Hadouken! announced a cover of Breathe by The Prodigy (“…The best band in the world”). It was a big call, but after their seriously powerful performance pretty much everyone there was willing to believe it, no small thanks to a feat of drumming from Nick Rice. In case there was any more bouncing to squeeze out of the audience Hadouken! blasted some more heads with Liquid Lives as a surge of unbridled screams were heard from the moshing mass. Clearly a hugely intuitive band, maybe Hadouken! shouldn’t be dismissed as fresh anti-social teen meat just yet – although they’ll probably tell you they’re too cool to give a shit.