The Beards + Claire + Matt Andersen at The Vanguard
23 December 2011Earlier this week I went to a gig The Vanguard, in Newtown, for the first time. It’s a pretty cool little venue.
First up was Matt Andersen, the massive Canadian blues guitarist I’ve already seen twice as he’s toured Australia. He displayed the same pyrotechnics as before; maybe a bit more, as he was the first opening act. The crowd seemed to think it was cool, though a lot of them remained sitting on the floor, which I found a bit odd.
Second was Claire, a relatively new and very young Australian act. Heavy art rock, sort of. Modern, and theatrical, but not emotional enough for me after seeing Matt. The crowd stood up, though.
Finally it was The Beards in their last show of the year. They were as tight and hooky and beard-y as the first time I saw them. You’ve got to have chops if you’re going to be successful as a one-joke band, but they really do it.
Here it is again, because you need to hear it: “You Should Consider Having Sex With a Bearded Man”. Listen, then vote it into triple j’s Hottest 100.
