Cog
featuring
MM9 and Freestate
22nd November 2008
Queensbridge Hotel, Melbourne
Originally I was supposed to see Cog on the 10th of October but the show was postponed due to Flynn’s wife going into labour with their second child. But they promised to come back and put on the show for us, which they did, and it was well worth the wait.
Opening the night was Freestate, a little-known band from Melbourne. They were pretty terrible, but unfortunately I had to stick them out in order to keep my front-row possie. They played really generic hard rock that had nothing special about it in the slightest. The lead singer’s vocals were very melodic and he had a great voice, but it was just boring. Worst of all, they were shameless show-offs to the point where it was quite sickening. Much to my pleasure, the guitarist fell off the stage amusingly during one of their songs, probably due to his head being much too far up his arse. Anyway!
MM9 were pretty interesting, and to be honest I really got into them – they definitely had the ability to get a crowd going during a live show. Hailing from Sydney, MM9 combine the elements of rock and electro. Their set-up included an amazing drummer with a kit that combined traditional pieces and electric pads, a pretty mediocre guitarist and also bass player, and vocalist who also messed around with a variety of effects on a KORG keyboard. I haven’t decided if I like them outside of the live gig yet, but I definitely enjoyed them on the night – they were good fun, had a great attitude, and were fun to let loose and move to.
Then there was Cog. I can’t emphasise how much I love this band. Cog are a three-piece from Sydney, comprised of brothers Flynn and Luke Gower, on vocals/ guitar and bass, and Lucius Borich on drums. They call themselves ‘Australian progressive rock’ and one of the reasons why I love them so much is that they actually
sound Australian. I don’t know if this is possible, or if it can be explained, but they do – and not just because of their accents. Some of their songs hold traces of Aboriginal influence. This, I think makes them pretty unique.
The show they put on was just awesome. They do use a lot of sampling and loops in their live shows – and I know a lot of people are very anti this – but I am always baffled by how many simultaneous cool sounds they can make for having only three people on stage. To be honest, I was a little disappointed with the sound quality of this particular show – the guitar distortion was kind-of fuzzy and the drum and bass sounds weren’t that impressive either. I’m not sure who’s fault this is, but it took away from the tightness of the band which got me into them. The vocals however, sounded great, with Flynn’s voice being incredibly smooth, echoey (in a good way), and spot-on for the entire show. I also loved their stage presence. I’d have to say that Cog are a fairly modest band, but I love how Flynn especially moves about the stage and gets into what he’s playing. This, coupled with the way they interact with each other on stage, makes you able to tell that as well as being close friends and brothers, they’re doing it simply because they love the music and want to make a difference. You may think I’m biased because of my drive to support the Australian music scene, but I really do love this band. So without further ado, Cog:
Oh, and I got to go home with one of Lucius's drumsticks!