Once again I was at The Zoo and experiencing the truly woeful sound that went beyond just poor mixing, it was also far too loud and as a result all the vocals became muffled. This was obviously not bands fault at all, as even they were complaining about the volume being far too loud. It has been quite a while since I have heard anything from Iron On and the new stuff (from what I could make out though the painful sound mixing) seems to … well be better. Iron On struggled with their on stage performance due the incredibly horrific sound mixing and volume. The Zoo is capable of good sound, such as the set that followed for one.
Performance 6
Technical 3
Ben Kweller
I had waited far too long for this. First thing I am sure everyone noticed was that we could not only hear Ben’s voice but listen to it comfortably. Ben opened with I Need You Back and a much more alternate country vibe builds with Family Tree and numerous new tracks. Ben turns solo for a bit and delivers a tingling crowd sung version of On My Way and a beautiful cover of Brian Wilson’s God Only Knows. Only further proving that Ben Kweller is not only a fantastic singer/songwriter but also a great performer, who knows how to build the intimacy even in a pack hot stuffy Zoo. The set takes another turn and sees Ben Kweller with the band back on stage to give us Hospital Bed and Make It Up. Ben Kweller admits to us that this is his first time in Brisbane without visiting the casino, at which point his bassist attempts a spontaneous version of Steve Miller Band’s The Joker. Ben jokes that The Gambler would be more appropriate, but the bassist wins out and a somewhat comical version develops. Sundress was the last song of the main set, which left me hopeful that Ready and Wasted was still to come (along with some other hits of Ben’s). However it was not to be with the band returning to only perform The Rules before the ugly light come on, and the crowd disperses into the night.
This set was proof that good sound is possible at The Zoo. It will never be great or amazing sound quality due to the complete lack of acoustics that The Zoo offers, but good is possible.
Performance 9
Technical 7.5
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