Reviews

BOX #38 - 29 August 2004 - Idiots Avante - Browning Mummery - Justice Yeldham & The Dynamic Ribbon Device

Review by Jamie Hume

Like on occasions past and to come that particular SBB rounded off a weekend of avant shenanigans around Brisden. This time around it was preceded by Baconfat Synaptic Uprock at 610 Ann St (old IMA) on the 27th and Jan Jelinek w/ Triosk at The Powerhouse on the 28th so you could imagine that after all that fun and excitement you would be very tired indeed.

Replacing Jon Dale (will he actually make one?) who was unable to do SBB yet again was Idiots Avante who is in reality Nick Semthurst of Brisbane. Coming from an indie/shoegazing background(he also plays acoustic gtr in the acoustic duo Sonnet) he is most firmly of the "fx pedals galore,gotta use them" school. At times it was quiet lilting and contemplative, other times it was like being in a coastal town being overwhelmed by massive tidal waves while a Tsunami was raging. At times the sound sliced right through your cortex as a knife cuts skin. It was rather enjoyable plus he gets extra points for using a steel drum as percussion at times.

Second on the bill was a return engagement for Browning Mummery who last put in an appearance at SBB#3(that far? that long?) doing a doubleplusgood doublee set. He is in reality Andrew Lonsdale formerly of Rockhampton and an Arts graduate from CQU(Central Queensland University). He started creating sound for robots to make love to in 1980 and became involved in the Sydney experimental underground after moving there in 1981. Over the years his live appearances like his music has been rather minimal. On this night he was joined by (insert name) of Electric Tipi on guitar. Blurring the division between soundcheck and performance, both of them created a drawn out soundscape with gtr and electronics becoming indistinguishable at times while a loop of rapidly changing images went by so quickly that it would have probably induced epileptic members of the audience to do the Ian Curtis. If this is what drowning slowly in thick molasses is like then I'm jumping in.

And rounding things off that night was Justice Yeldham & The Dynamic Ribbon Device, one of the may name of Sydney's Lucas Abela, Dual Plover CEO. Still bearing a scar from his BSU performance, which involved him running into a wall and leaving audience members covered in glass, blood and KY jelly, he got back into the fray well and truly that night. First appearing as a silhouette behind a sheet of plastic he kicked the set off by ripping it to shreds with a sheet of glass. He then proceeded to push his face against it creating all sorts of grotesque faces while at the same time playing his pedals belt producing a sound that would have scattered people's brains all over the city. I'm still wiping off bits of cerebral tissue. The screeching which would have made a Banshee sound like the singer of Sixpence None The Richer and playground face pulling was concluded with Lucas smashing the plate of glass against his face resulting in three lacerations. A classic hit and run noise strike all down within the course of three minutes.

And so endeth another Small Black Box.