I Just Read About That…

[ATTENDED: October 13, 2018] Tropical Fuck Storm

When a band names itself Tropical Fuck Storm, you know that they are not interested in radio airplay and that they are going for a particular sound.  I mean, you can almost hear their music from those three words.

And it’s a pretty accurate description.

Hailing from Australia, I was almost as excited to hear TFS as I was to hear Modest Mouse.  Even if, as the lights dimmed and the band came out, singer Gareth Liddiard said calm down, it’s only the support band from Australia.

TFS were fun from the get go, playing their noisy, feedbacky, sometimes catchy, totally rocking songs.

I didn’t know any of their songs, but I was delighted with them from the start.  Liddiard was a funny front man and his band was top-notch.  I stood right in front of Erica Dunn who started on keys for the first song, but she switched to guitar for the rest.  She wailed and soloed and made sonic explosions which were so much fun to watch.

Bassist Fiona Kitschin held the motley noise together by playing some very cool basslines and singing backing vocals and lead on one track.  I couldn’t see drummer Lauren Hammel at all from where I was, but she was great, beating the hell out of the kit but adding some nice subtlety when called for.

They didn’t have a stage show–few opening bands do, but they completely won over the crowd.  They sounded great, too.  By the end of their set, everyone was impressed by them.

They opened with “Chameleon Paint” and “Antimatter Animals” which has a great riff and pointed lyrics (when they are audible).  There’s some interesting lyrics on “Soft Power” after a noisy guitar opening.

They slowed things down with a song in which Fiona sang.  I didn’t recognize it as a cover of “Back To The Wall” by The Divinyls, [who I didn’t know were Australian] but that explains the tempo change.  She has a great voice and the song was a welcome break and a great song to boot.

I chatted with them briefly after the show and they were super friendly.  You’ll never hear them on the radio, but go check out Tropical Fuck Storm.

SETLIST

1. Chameleon Paint*
2. Antimatter Animals*
3. Soft Power*
4. You Let My Tyres Down*
5. Back to the Wall
6. Two Afternoons*
7. Rubber Bullies*
8. Baby Squared

*from the album A Laughing Death in Meatspace.