Live Review: The Keepaways, Spacecowboy4005, Turnpike, Ultra Material

When someone mentions an EP launch show at The Zoo, this writer checks his schedule. 

Upon realising that tonight's event is for The Keepaways' release, a dinner date gets cancelled. When it becomes a double EP launch with Spacecowboy4005, this month’s schedule gets burnt and tossed out the window flaming into the night.

These two names should be enough to get even the laziest music fan out of the house, but there is even more auditory confectionery on the bill: The melancholic Ultra Material and the legendary Turnpike help create a crazy diverse line-up. Promoters Mad RPTR provide everything from super eclectic art-punk to experimental hip-hop on this bill. Though definitely not for everyone, it's a bit of an aural candy store, personally. 

Ultra Material set the mood well with their melancholic shoegaze. The rhythm section, with addition of synth, move steadily while the guitarist wails interesting melodies with wicked Jazz Master tones. It may be ironic to ask a shoegaze band to play with more dynamic range but, to be blunt, after a few songs everything felt very much the same. A lack of timbrel and rhythmic change cripple the performance; their saving grace is their vocalist, Sarah Deasy, whose vocal timbre sits perfectly over their monotonous soundscape. Deasy keeps us entertained with her use of live vocal loops to create interesting counter-melodies and emotional spoken-word passages over the instrumental bed. Ultra Material are a great band, and put on a strong performance, but leave this writer wanting more from it.

As anyone who's been following the rapper since his earliest days would know, it's hard not to be impressed by a Spacecowboy4005 experience. By bravely opening the set with a spoken-word segment, he catches everyone’s attention immediately. Spacecowboy4005's backing band, The Keepaways (yes, the same Keepaways headlining the evening), provide an intense instrumental bed of experimental hip-hop and the trio just produce an awesome energy for the crowd to reflect. Watching these guys perform is a joy to behold, an exercise in unfettered communal glee, as the figures on-stage join together to shout the chorus to Eastwood and leave no doubt that any future collaborative performances will be similarly must-see events. 

Turnpike is a great mix of Jesu and Fugazi. Everything about them is musically challenging, in a very good way. Super-long sections with well-composed dissonance, well-crafted guitar tones and a tight rhythm section place you in a state of confusion and caution. Turnpike leave stupids amount of space in all the right places and play with time creatively to create an immense amount of impact in their performance. Unfortunately, the vocalist’s poor mic technique breaks the immersion; however, the rare bursts of his vocal performance that shine through are reminiscent of a great catchy post-hardcore chorus. It's a pleasure watching this band; their record Humans Find Patterns comes highly recommended.

A Keepaways show is a twisted rave. The hard-hitting rhythm section, erratic production and hyperactive vocals will send you into frenzy. The combination of video games, strange Korean television and goofy home movies projected over the stage is a perfect overcast for The Keepaways' visceral performance. The vocalist, Jake Williamson, climbs under and over the stage while drummer James Dimick throws the audience into an earthquake. The onslaught of sight and sound is wholly overwhelming; their primal performance inspires instinctive rhythmic responses in the bodies gyrating nearby. Every minute is completely different and totally, brilliantly unpredictable.

One thing is certain, though: this is a great event, organised by great people; we can’t wait to see what’s on the next MAD RPTR bill.