Vibrations | Dots+Loops

Attended a very interesting gig the other day. Put together by the creative crew at Dots+Loops, Vibrations styled itself as the ‘avant-house party of your dreams’.  Some kooky dreams, that’s for sure.

I arrive a little late to the spacious room above Newstead Brewery. The crowd downstairs is pretty normcore, the aftermath of some giant sporting thing. Upstairs, I can see I am in my element with a gang of people well tarred with the ‘arts worker’ and ‘indie kid’ brush.  

I am greeted by the delightfully odd, creatively fruity and ASMR-inspired sounds of Provocative Vibrations. Clearly extremely well thought and articulated and AT THE SAME TIME an unnerving chaotic mash-up of sound, action, noise and voice, this is a cool weird experience. There is something so delightful to think that right now, in Brisbane, there are people making such a fabulously strange mash-up of noises, and rehearsing them perfectly, and there are eager audiences out there braying to get a hold of it. It’s heart-warming, it really is.

I’ll confess, it’s a little too cerebral for me, as I’m reading the program and understanding that these pieces were written as much as ten years ago, and are being performed almost like small plays. But don’t get me wrong, I one hundred percent love it and it makes me happy that it exists. I’m delighted by the experience, however there are people out there who are going to be proper thrilled, and I hope more of the twain shall meet. As an unrelated side note, the three performers also had extremely good hair. Shiny, well shaped, and interesting hair. Good show, all up, very satisfying.

The middle set was a hilarious interlude by Throat Pleats, bravely up from Sydney on the eve of a lockdown. The two performers play out the highs and lows of a ritual mating dance between bird-like creatures, followed by a great and ridiculous musical performance with some kind of trumpet or vacuum inspired instrument made of hoses and balloons. Completely unexpected and giddily fun.

Shugorei are up next, and what a great set. Pop this on your must-see list cause it’s the kind of sound that gets your toes tapping and your bones jumping. Perfect festival fodder. A lively set featuring vibraphone, digital samples, analogue synthesizer, drums, violin and cello, plus exquisite ethereal vocals from guest singer Chihiro Kasagi. Plus – much like the fabulous accoutrements that Provocative Vibrations laid out before them, this band also have a love of bricolage – that is, a varied assortment of instruments and objects, including a Chinese yangqin, clockwork toys, bells, bowls, roof tiles, tom toms, tam tams, mandolin and more. Every other minute Nozomi Omote played with some kind of delightful and bizarre noise-making object, adding a layer of gorgeous richness to the overarching jungle-esque vibes.

Unfortunately my early morning rehearsal pulled me away from the dance floor that followed. I didn’t mind the venue, it was beautifully and painstakingly decorated, but Vibrations really would make for a genuine house-party, the dive bar vibes were real and the big clean space a little incongruous to the vibes. I love the absurdity of this as a musical gig. It was so fresh, so unexpected, it made me happy to behold. Good vibrations, would recommend.