Live Review: New Gods, Peter Bibby & His Bottles Of Confidence

Peter Bibby is joined on stage by backing band His Bottles Of Confidence. Bibby plays a resonator guitar and this, coupled with violin, gives the impression of stumbling into a country hoedown crossed with an Irish wake. Bibby’s gift is his sprawling, narrative lyrics delivered through his warbly, ocker drawl.

The vocals are crystal clear, however reverb issues see that the violin is barely heard at all. At one stage Bibby implores the crowd to “abolish the semi-circle of death” and we duly comply by moving closer to the stage. Drinking is a prominent theme of most of the tunes, particularly Hates My Boozin’ and Home Alone. The latter track, which boasts the lyrics, “I’m a drunken fucking animal,” is pertinent because Bibby and drummer Nick Allbrook look like they may have polished off a bottle of something prior to the gig. Allbrook is particularly entertaining as he has that look of intense concentration that is shared by 2am Fitzroy cyclists. He doesn’t miss a beat, however.

New Gods take the stage for the launch of their album Beloved. Released for free in 2013 and shortlisted for the Australian Music Prize, the album has been officially released by new label Barely Dressed Records.

Containing members of Ground Components and Eagle & The Worm, and fronted by former Little Red band member Dominic Byrne, New Gods are one of those indie supergroups that occasionally get smushed together. Nevertheless, New Gods do not fail to deliver the goods. The music is accessible and haunting. The catchy Turning To White compels the audience to start a steady sway. Caravan Park is easily the best track on the album and, apart from some frantic guitar tuning during the intro by guitarist Adrian Beltrame (also formerly of Little Red), it captures everyone’s attention and imagination. Byrne is an enigmatic frontman, enthralling the crowd throughout the performance; the highlight of the set comes when he smashes the base of his guitar on the stage floor during the climax of Eyes Of Love. One drawback of this gig is the blinding yellow light that flashes straight into the audience’s eyes: as well as being painful, it is also unnecessarily Bon Jovi-esque. Set closer Deeper Love features keys player Dale Packard providing the horns riff on sax. New Gods thank the crowd and exit without an encore.