Live Review: Sally Seltmann, Wintercoats, Phoncurves

Though the Valley may resemble certain scenes from Jarhead, tucked away amongst the construction Black Bear Lodge remains open and tonight is playing host to Sally Seltmann. It's a bit of a different atmosphere at the Lodge tonight, with most attendees taking a seat on the floor and favouring the free cucumber water over a good old-fashioned beer. 

Opening things is local duo The Phoncurves, who feel throughout somewhat typical. Musically, having quite good sound delivered in a seasoned fashion lacks a defined sense of originality while sounding generally unmoving.

If you're a fan of looping, then Wintercoats is right up your alley. The solo Melbourne musician is in rather fine form tonight with each track building on the elements of the last and really creating a great soundscape. Things get a bit weird when he takes on TLC's No Scrubs with his voice hitting a little too close to the peak of '90s pop, making it a rather surreal experience. Still, all-in-all, the set was a pleasure. 

Making her way back Down Under from LA, Sally Seltmann takes to the stage in what is a rather minimal setup of a rather in-depth drum kit and a keyboard. She begins solo with On The Borderline, which works quite well, setting the tone for the rest of the set. The problem here is that what's on offer here is so safe and lyrically resembles bad high school poetry (lots of words ending with 'ing' or 'ey' get a lot of air time here) so by about three songs in things become interminable, especially with the New Buffalo tracks, which have not appreciated with age. That's not to mention her terrible banter, which ranged from talking about boys, terrible jokes and name-dropping her husband (Darren Seltmann of The Avalanches). There's even a point where Seltmann asks people talking to move to the back of the venue if they wish to continue as it was distracting for her to perform.

There are some moments of clarity; some of her newer tracks feel more fleshed out with electronic elements and her on-tour drummer Bree is actually quite talented and a pleasure to watch. Ultimately, unless you're a fan this is not a set that would win you over and in fact it would do the opposite. But if you were the girl sitting up the front blowing bubbles you probably had the time of your life.