Our third ever show was memorable for a few reasons, it was our first time working with the future stalwart of Dunedin live sound, Iain Sweetman, it was our first show with the already-mighty Mountaineater, and our first show at The Provincial, a venue that would soon be unable to host gigs. This was mainly due to noise issues, by all accounts, and anyone who knows Mountaineater knows they are not a quiet band. Noise control turned up while they were playing, but they allowed them to finish after some slick talking from Tristan. He promised they'd play one last song, quickly...and then played Sun Fired, just the same length as it had ever been.
This was the first of seven shows we played in May of 2010. Seven! We stated that as if it was significant! Earlier in the day Iain had provided the sound gear for a free all ages show at the Kings/Queens performance centre featuring Die! Die! Die! and Sewage for NZ Music Month, and we'd introduced ourselves to him there. That introduction and the subsequent show at The Provincial later that night were to lay the groundwork for a fruitful series of future shows, but it took a while to understand that the gruff exterior he projected upon first meeting him was a total show, and that he's one of the sweetest guys you're ever going to have standing behind a sound desk.
As for the show, from memory there were quite a few other shows on that night, and we were lucky to get enough people in to cover Iain's costs. It just goes to show you that sometimes even playing with Dunedin's most forceful, beguiling, and just plain visceral monster-rock band in Mountaineater is no guarantee. I believe that Beautiful comes to such an abrupt end because Tim's guitar pedal gave out, later to be found to be a flat battery. When I set the minidisc recorder up on the sound desk, Iain informed me with a completely straight face that he didn't allow people to record shows. I had no clue he was taking the piss, and was somewhat taken aback.
But, hey, luckily for you, the ardent listener, he was joking, as the evidence of our slowly-building confidence is laid out for you aurally, for you to judge accordingly. Again, this is a live recording from the audience with no possibility of mixing or tidying it up, so be fairly warned: this is not particularly high on the listenability spectrum. Enjoy it, if you can.
Dave, April 2015
The original liner notes are as follows:
"Man, is Iain Sweetman an awesome guy. He provided the gear for an all ages show at Kings High School for Die! Die! Die! and Sewage during the day, then packed it all up and brought it to The Provincial that evening, set it all up (including lights) and it sounded amazing. And so relaxed. Iain, we love ya man.
Our first gig with Mountaineater, and there was a lot of competition gig-wise that night, being the first day of New Zealand Music Month. Our initial booking of Cellars Bar had been displaced by a Socialist Convention (!), so we got the benefit of a much larger, easier to load into room. Noise control turned up during Mountaineater’s set, of course, but enough people came and it went late enough to cover costs. And be Awesome.
DAVE, JUNE 2010
Artwork from ‘Pendulum’, by Jo Robertson
RECORDED LIVE TO MINIDISC ON THE NIGHT OF THE 1st OF MAY 2010
credits
released May 1, 2015
TIM SMITH VOCALS GUITAR
SAM BROOKLAND DRUMS
DAVID AGER BASS
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