y got into Western Australia's well known band competition, the Next Big Thing. The four piece band, consisting of David Lee Owen (guitar & vocals), Jack Midalia (guitar), JP Papineau (drums) and Kok-Wah Seet (bass) got through their heat and last Saturday played in the Semi-Final.The competition was tough; among the other artists were a hip hop/funk band, a 70s-inspired rock and roll band, a bluegrass duo...
Each band got only 20 minutes to play, and the first act had to go on at 7:30 or so, for a total of seven acts. The order was decided with a random draw. Mrs. Henry did well in the draw and got the 9:50 slot. I was pretty nervous for them as the time before they went on passed and as they got onstage, but all traces of worry vanished when they began to play. I say with confidence that this was the best show the band has ever put on.
They started out with Kissing Girls, a song with clever lyrics and a slow, unsettling sound that unfolded into an explosion of rock music. Their second song, Trombone Sally was pure pop rocks, catchy melodies and energy that just has to be danced to and sung along with. The vibe changed a bit with the band's next song, Choke On Your Words, a heavier, angrier song with hushed tones contrasting with thunderous, guitar-heavy choruses that bring back memories of the best music from the 90s yet somehow without sounding too derivative. Next, the band played Terminal Party, the title track of their recently released EP. Terminal Party is truly the band's magnum opus. It is an epic, extremely compelling song with amazing changes that give the listener chills. It is a song that takes risks and really succeeds; The melodies and structure are just brilliant, and the lyrics are haunting and provoking. After the intensity of Choke on Your Words and Terminal Party, Mrs. Henry wisely ended their set with a new, untitled (referred to as SY Song thus far) track, a raucous, thrashing punk rock song that ended with a rockin jam and a bang. Great fun.
As it turned out, they didn't get through to the Final (the hip hop band ended up coming in first...), but they were very, very close. There were a lot of people there who thought they should have won. The point is, it would have been great to win, but everyone had a great night, and they played their hearts out. And hey, it's cool to be the band that is sort of the underdog, the band that everyone thought should have come first. Everyone was happy. And there was a girl who asked to have her picture taken with Dave.
On a side note, a bunch of us who went to the show were having a wonderful time drawing mustaches on the insides of our index fingers, courtesy of Gaby and taking pictures of it. Great times.
Mrs Henry got absolutely sparkling reviews in Xpress and Drum Media.
From Xpress:
Mrs. Henry, wildcard potentials from Semifinal 2, are pretty damn handy at upgrading their chosen genre of music, which happens to be the oft-left-unchanged realm of indie-rock. Not a band to play by the rules, Mrs. Henry put more power and balls into the indie mix than anyone has dared since the Pixies, but also make sure there's enough pop in the rock mix to see them sure-fire radio fodder. Able to jump from delicate lows to soaring highs within the same song, Mrs. Henry are all about versatility in a world of music that has long given up rising to such a challenge.
Thr review from Drum Media was particularly impressive. Each band in the competition got a little something said about them, and many reviews were pretty damn unflattering. "woefully unimaginative", "Audioslave with added vocal echo" and "perverse embarrassment" are some examples of descriptions from some reviews.
Bands got good things said about them, but Mrs. Henry was actually the ONLY band that got a purely good review! Here it is:
Mrs Henry plays and incredible and enigmatic set. Lead singer/guitarist Dave Henry stalks the stage like Groucho Marx, his body reeling in short, sharp fits. His entire being yelps through his guitar...through his throat. Songs hurl from riff to riff like magic and I am suddenly excited about indie rock all over again.
Yay!
If you want to hear Mrs. Henry you should check out their Myspace.
www.myspace.com/mrshenrytheband
The have an EP out as well.
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