I find those ads about Febfast a little insulting. Who do they think they are, pushing their high-and-mighty clean agenda on us working class types – guilt tripping us into giving up the chemicals that our entire society runs on – caffiene to wake us up for work, digital screens at work, then alcohol to forget work. What’s worse is that it derides the last summer month of the year – Laneway festival brings out cool bands, all those bloody kids go back to school and stop bothering you at work, the music industry starts turning it’s wheels again and you have a hope of getting that job you saw on Pedestrian.tv. It’s a total myth that nothing happens in February, and we have proof right here…
Kicking off this Saturday (Feb 1st, 2014) is Maids national tour which is set to bring heavy rock and roll to the major cities (and Bunbury) around the country. Maids won the the Triple J unearthed competition for Fat As Butter last year, which saw them explode onto the national radar and support the likes of jjjcore heavyweights Bleeding Knees Club, Sparkadia and The Delta Riggs and build enough hype to release the tour-worthy single Mechanism off their self titled EP.
Mechanism and it’s accompanying four tracks is a tour de force of scorching guitars and heavy effects, taking influence from the sort of industrial-ish rock music that your parents were worried about when you were in high school – think Audioslave and System Of A Down. You can feel the bass drum cut through the low end on tracks like Green and the stories hiding within the creeping guitar riffs tell much more than the lyrics do on closer Yoohoo. It’s the music that plays just before you rob a bank, assassinate a key political figure or illegally download a movie. It’s a throwback sound that sits uncomfortably on the edge of a cliff that looks directly into the gaping chasm of 2001 yet it’s been so long that it doesn’t feel dated at all.
If this sounds like your kind of thing, check out the dates below for the Maids headline shows in your capital city (and Bunbury). Get fucked up and see some rad music this Feb and stick it to FebFast. No donations necessary.
Sat February 1 – The Grand Central, Brisbane
Sun February 2 – Swingin Safari, Gold Coast
Thu February 6 – The Newport, Fremantle
Fri February 7 – Ya Yas, Perth w/ Puck & Pat Chow
Sat February 8 – Prince Of Wales, Bunbury w/ Mezzanine
Sat February 15 – The Lansdowne, Sydney w/ Mezzanine, Oslow & Royal Chant
Sat February 22 – Tiki Bar, Newcastle w/ Horror My Friend, Archers
Sat March 1 – The Rochester Castle, Melbourne
