The Brunettes with the Incisions @ the Dux de Lux 25/2/03

This was quite a weekend of rock and roll for me. Starting with the thursday night when the Palace of Wisdom opened for the Incisions at the Dux. That was a ton of fun and the Palace got a mighty fine review in the Package to boot.

Unfortunately the Incisions only got to play 3 songs that night as there was some misunderstanding over when the bands had to stop playing. This sucked as I love the Incisions and they'd just gone to the next level recently as Ben gelled into the line up on bass and shared the vocals with Nick.

Oh well she'll be right I thought there is always tomorrow night as the Incisions were due to support the Brunettes, again at the Dux. I knew it wouldn't be quite the same though as the Incisions would be playing their new 'quiet' set. The quiet set is nice but it just isn't dirty rock & roll.

The Incisions are probably the dirtiest and loudest of all the current guitar bands (the Datsuns, the D4, the RnR Machine, Pro-Drag, Slavetrader etc). Conversely the quiet set is basically bubblegum pop with harmonies and dreamy female backing vocals. Kind of very similar to the Brunettes actually.

For me it sounds like two different bands when the dirty stuff and the bubblegum stuff are combined in the same set.

Supporting the Brunettes meant that tonight the dirty loud stuff was shelved so as not to frighten the 'nice people' in the crowd away. Either way the set was real good and very very well received by the crowd. I enjoyed it for sure it just didn't seem like the Incisions though. Maybe more like 'the scratches'!

The Brunettes had pulled a pretty good crowd into the Dux for a Friday night. Just like they do most places nationwide.

Their sound is often described as bubblegum pop and centres around Johnathon Bree's clever songwriting and Heather Mansfields innocently seductive voice.

There aren't any similar sounding bands around NZ but maybe you could use Garagelands 'Beelines to heaven' era stuff as a reference point?

Still lost? Then throw in a huge dose of Johnathon Richman & the modern lovers and an early era Carpenters image and your probably just around the corner.

Either way I like the Brunettes, the music is original and it's good foot tapping stuff.

This was the first time I had seen the Brunettes since they poached bass player Gerald off the Bloody Souls and he has made a big difference to their live act. Gerald is a party gladiator and his enthusiasm has really sparked the Brunettes live act up. Plus he told me that this bands fans are all chicks, chicks, chicks and that makes a nice change from the usual dirty rock'n'roll sausage party.

Carry was playing the drums and James who's originally from our fair garden city was on rhythm guitar.

Tim & Nick from the Incisions are huge Brunettes fans so I'm pretty up on my Brunettes songs I just don't know the titles.

Superfox Heather and her handsome henchmen were in fine form and served up all the crowds favourites from the "feeding ducks" album as well as the new "boy racer" Ep.

Johnathon's American accent can bite but at least he fesses up to it in the lyrics - "and when I sing I like to sound American".

His lyrics are very clever for sure but why not some Kiwiana instead of Americana in the subject matter?

Heather Mansfield is gorgeous in a fifties movie star sort of way. She also plays the keyboards, glockenspiel, and melodica but best of all she sings like an angel.

An unmistakably antipodean angel as Johnathons 'American' singing makes you much more aware of her very Kiwi accent.

The highlight of the set for me was the superb cover of Blondies 'pretty baby' which is something you'd have to do at some time with a name like the Brunettes.

The Brunettes are a real serious band. They have a manager, their own 'lil chief' label and a local deal with Emi. They also have a very real following nationwide yet have had little support from NZ commercial radio even though they've had some NZonAir video help and are a commercial band.

Well by the time you read this they will be overseas doing the world and London trying to crack it. I'll stick my neck out here and say I think that it will happen for them!

Why? Well any band that can get a following in NZ without being force fed to the sheep of this country on commercial radio has got to be onto something!! Add to that the Heather factor and the Brunettes could just be the new Blondie.

Here is a top tip for any die hard Brunettes fans. Buy the FastFood Xmas compilation from www.records.co.nz. The Brunettes track is incrediblea and is definitely my favourite ever Brunettes track. You won't find it anywhere else and they don't play it live.