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Left - Mariachi El Bronx

Yes, the rain has come and gone, the temperature is creeping up into the twenties, you could even say we’re on the cusp of summer, but surely that’s not reason enough to be caught drifting merrily down Flinders Street in a sombrero? It’s not like the roads are melting just yet, and, well, its midnight for Pete’s sake! No, there must be some other reason for the strangely disproportionate amount of pseudo Mexicans making tracks past Federation Square… perhaps a quick look into the Forum could shed some light on the situation.

Gladly, the hordes of eclectic characters spilling out of Melbourne’s most aesthetically pleasing venue certainly warranted further investigation. As part of the Melbourne Festival, Beck’s Bar at The Forum has played host to some of the finest and most intriguing acts in Australia and across the planet in recent weeks, and this particular weekend was no exception. For discerning music fans and intrigued or intrepid show-goers, the venerable walls of our recreated Roman Theatre housed a playlist of delights as diverse as a nine piece orchestral jam band and China’s answer to The Stone Roses.

Friday night saw a late show headlined by the always caustically brilliant Drones, with lead singer Gareth Liddiard in especially anarchic form, spitting bile to the lyrically quite sombre Shark Fin Blues and thrashing around emphatically onstage. Their music may not have taken the rest of the world by storm but it’s not hard to see why the band are so adored in Australia, with an ineffable talent exuding from their frenetic performance. Speaking of the ‘rest of the world’, directly preceding The Drones was a much cherpier performance from China’s P.K.14 who were so obviously delighted at their invitation to the stage that not a single member of the band could stay still through their 40 minute set of ‘Madchester’ inflected power pop. Unfortunately, the lead singer’s vocal talent did not match his exuberance which was a real shame since the rest of the band were more than proficient at dealing out their brand of indie, but for sheer entertainment value the four piece were well worth their spot on the bill.

Saturday’s show saw the music carry on well into the early hours of the morning, with a carnival atmosphere prevalent throughout, inspired by the headlining slot of Los Angeles’ Mariachi El Bronx. Before the Americans can claim the stage, however, Melbourne’s own Eagle and the Worm make a play for most intriguing act of the night, bringing all of their 9 members onstage in varying degrees of geek-chic attire and a plethora of instruments. With a sound that ranges from Latin tinged folk to ambient, whirling shoe-gazing the band make for as interesting a listen as they do a spectacle. Clearly a confident outfit, the group are perfectly suited for the large accommodating stage and its decorative surround although their between song repartee is a little lacklustre considering the setting.

Much more verbose are headliners Mariachi El Bronx whose musical stylings are as interesting as the story of their inception. Formed by the members of hardcore punk band The Bronx as a sarcastic rebuke to requests to perform their own material in acoustic/unplugged form, this Mariachi version of themselves soon became as popular if not more so than their initial incarnation and now they headline shows like this performing Pasodoble songs of their own concoction. Surprisingly authentic sounding, the band let slip no hint of their previous genre leanings, giving way to a set of bittersweet and danceable numbers that have even the heavily tattooed fans of The Bronx in the audience jiving like Rhumba dancers.

Dressed in full Mariachi black uniforms save for Sombreros – in deference to the authenticity of true Mexican bands – there is even a Guitarron present in the band’s possession which provides a delightful rhythmic grandeur to the yearning music. That the instrument is retired after only the third song is disappointing, but a classic Spanish guitar admirably fills the void as lead singer Matt Caughtran announces the band’s biggest hit Cell Mates. Stuffed into his Mariachi uniform with a rather large, bald head poking out the top, Caughtran is a virtual caricature with a massive grin smeared across his face, but his band’s music is nothing like the humorous skit you might expect, instead favouring technique and heartfelt passion over m ere entertainment value. Not that this is detrimental to the performance element of their set with Caughtran announcing that he’s going to be ‘partying his face off’ up onstage and the crowd respond with reciprocal energy long into Sunday morning.


Beck's Festival Bar

Venue: the Forum Theatre
Dates: 8 - 23 October, 2010
Bookings: 1300 723 038 | www.ticketmaster.com.au
Visit: www.melbournefestival.com.au/becksbar