The Cassette Kids – Northcote Social Club : Gig Reviews

It seems I missed the train when people got on board ‘The Cassette Kids’ and if their live show is anything to go by, I’ve been missing a wild ride.

Largely unfamiliar with their tunes, I moseyed on down to the Northcote Social Club to see what all the fuss was about, and apparently, it’s a lot more than “just another rock band” fronted by an attractive female ‘front-man’.

From the moment the band hit stage, my eyes lit up.  Apart from the drummer looking like a moustache wearing, anorexic, slightly-dishevelled Shia LaBeouf and off course, the stunning Kat Noorbergen, the band made themselves known with little more than a loud and electrified sound.

They were tight, up-beat and in their element and I could understand why ‘The Cassette Kids’ had finally been given the chance to take their first headlining national tour.  Having previously toured with acts such as Lily Allen, The Presets and Van She, it was clear to me that ‘The Cassette Kids’ knew what they were there to do and were no stranger to the bright lights that adorn a stage.

The band’s latest single Lying Around came in early and certainly helped to lift the crowd to an even higher level.  Various “whoo’s” and “yeah’s” echoed around the room as front-woman Kat took hold of the mic stand and manoeuvred it in a way that only true tight-wearing female leads can.

Armed with a black vest, Noorbergen pranced around the stage with ruffled blonde hair, peering just below her fringe to look out at stare the crowd down in a trance.  Her powerful lungs punctured any half-interested mind in the room and after taking a look around, Noorbergen had the NSC’s full attention.

If it’s character you look for in a band, then The Cassette Kids definitely have it.  Guitarist Dan Schrober and bass player Dan Deitz each held their own, moving to the music and belittling any wavering thought that this wasn’t a full blown performance we were seeing.

Despite donning a hairdo reminiscent of American Idol’s Adam Lambert, guitarist Dan’s ‘shimmy strumming’ is something I would expect to see a funky grandma bust out on the d-floor at her 70^th birthday, and I was certainly not complaining, secretly yearning for a chance to join him on stage.

While The Cassette Kids’ personality and self-described techno/indie sound was a rush, it was sadly short-lived.  The band didn’t necessarily get ‘worse’, they just didn’t get ‘better’ and for a spectator that isn’t ‘die hard’ enough to know the words to every song, the second half of the set tended to sound exactly the same as the first and therefore the ‘big bang’ feeling seemed to wane.

It was like somebody turned the beat dial to 8 and just left it there to slowly fade and for a band with such high intensity, it would have been nice to see some diversity in the tempo and pace of a few songs.

Other than that The Cassette Kids’ national tour is a promising vision of what’s to come and is one that fans and keen musos alike shouldn’t miss.  The Northcote Social Club was certainly treated to a fun, loud and different show and I look forward to hearing more of The Cassette Kids as they move up the ruthless music ladder.  Expect Nova to overplay them very soon.

DOWNLOAD “LYING AROUND” NOW :

The Cassette Kids play their last Melbourne show 14 November at Revolver at 9pm, before embarking on their East-Coast Tour heading to Sydney, Canberra and Brisbane. Tickets From Moshtix