Like a diver is scored with the technical difficulty of their attempt in mind, it would be fair to give Jonti & The Astral Kids’ attempt at performing The Avalanches’ 3,500 sample-filled masterpiece on live instruments the same consideration. Since I Left You, the mash-up to end all mash-ups (alongside As Heard On Radio Soulwax Part II) was probably never intended to be performed live, but adoration will do crazy things to some people.
Jonti, the South African-born, Los Angeles-based, Australian artist was joined on stage by 14 other cult-devotees of The Avalanches to deliver a note-perfect, and at times jaw-dropping performance of an album many consider to be a modern Australian classic. Its mythology is aided by the fact that its sequel has never seen the light of day (yet). Released in 2000, the album is cited by nearly every act on Modular Records as a major influence of their career. Cut/Copy and The Presets would perhaps not exist as they do today without this experimental and pioneering sonic odyssey that took everything from disco to prog-rock to hip-hop and threw it into their kitchen blender.
On stage, it was a magnificent melée, brimming with enthusiasm unseen since the days of The Polyphonic Spree. And it is unquestionable that the project would have been an abject failure had it not been for the powerhouse vocal chords of Sydney-based artist Rainbow Chan. With unwavering dedication to the vocal samples that define songs like Flight Tonight and Etoh, Rainbow Chan’s full range was on display and was worth the ticket price alone.
To admit that Frontier Psychiatrist was a highlight of the set seems a tad redundant. Of course it was a highlight, it’s one of the best Australian songs of the 21st century, but it took the song being amplified to such a volume to completely realise its power. With violins, violas, a flute, a saxophone and a double bass creating the orchestral flourishes, the title track, with its flamenco guitar was a moment of beauty before the party really got started. Jonti was regularly pogo-ing on stage throughout the set, screaming vocal samples whilst the two percussionists (often on different time signatures) kept the segues between the songs as perfect as they could be. Any nerves or sloppiness in execution had obviously dissipated by their final performance, because they were faultless and their enthusiasm was infectious as the entire Foxtel Festival Hub bounced and grooved to every track.
With Jonti humbly thanking the audience and dishing shout-outs to the music’s creators, Extra Kings closed the night with a distorted, orchestral cacophony that Sufjan Stevens would have smiled at. Whatever the performance lost in unpredictability, it gained in novelty, because witnessing Since I Left You performed in its entirety might be a once in a lifetime event and it was definitely one worth experiencing.
BY CHRISTOPHER LEWIS
Loved: Frontier Psychiatrist. Live. Wow. Much Mind Blown.
Hated: See below.
Drank: A $16 Kirin cider, which I obviously ordered without knowing the price.
