Goonite at the Buffalo Bar

Goonite at the Buffalo Bar

24 October, 2008
by: Katuschka

Goonite at The Buffalo Bar was a more serious and noticeably less crowded affair than sister night Twee as F*ck.  For example, my chosen leg-wear of green tights, which would have been embraced by Twee as F*ckers proved to be unsuitably frivolous; I stuck out like a Batman sidekick amongst a hip yet restrictive catwalk of black skinny jeans, flasher macs, vertiginous heels, tight tight PVC, and a rogue poncho/gnome-hat combo flying the flag for serious fashion/garden ornaments.

As less of a party night, most of the audience was there to mooch poutily and appreciatively at an intriguing quartet of up-and-coming, unsigned bands; as such, the audience was mostly comprised of supportive friends cum teamsters and merch salesmen.  Despite such a flagrant display of ‘friend-rock’, the bands were in a partying mood and effortlessly pulled the crowd in, making the night seem more like an intimate gathering than a scantly attended club.     

First up was Interpol-alikes The Black Poets, none of whom are actually black (someone alert the ASA!), although to make up for this distressing misnomer their drummer was playing shirtless and their music was up-beat alt-pop with catchy choruses and guitar riffs conjured up with the Franz Ferdinand tenet ‘make music for girls to dance to’ in mind.  

Adorable, goth-glam, Australian band Birds of Paradise, who are funding their own European tour, are a fairly epic hybrid of CocoRosie, Nina Nastasia and The Dresden Dolls; with handmade PVC dresses, a trained opera-chanteuse singer and  lyrics about how to make a tasty meal out of your lover. Wooing the crowd with free CDs, mingling with new fans and citing Christina Aguilera as an influence, Birds of Paradise are quirky iconoclasts worth keeping an eye on, as well as being those super-cool girls men want and girls want to be.

However the highlight of the night was seriously be-fringed headliners, Rock City Sixteen who worked the garage-art rock angle, with a My Bloody Valentine, Sonic Youth-style unassuming cool, and a natty line in stripy t-shirts.  Cat Power-lookalike lead singer Czoe's husky vocals are laced into effortless guitar hooks and laconic keyboards, like opium into absinthe, a sophisticated and addictive, if slightly pretentious concoction (any band with Warhol's Empire State Building as their Myspace profile picture has let their beret seep into their brain - even he allegedly chewed through ropes to avoid viewing it). An extremely slick package and a louche European vibe ramp up their stellar potential, setting up debut 7” Lunettes Noires Pour Nuits Blanches, for imminent chart-humping and NME-dom.  Which makes it all the more special to see them before the culture vultures, of the scavenging rather than discerning variety, descend.   

All in all, Goonite is a great chance to see some potential 'next big things' brassing up their cahonies and rocking up the fame strata, in a very relaxed and comfortable setting.  Just make sure you wear appropriately somber attire.

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Katuschka