2006

2005
2004
27/09/03 The Arena, Harboard
26/09/03 The Crest, Sylvania
20/09/03 Kelt's Bar, Blaxland
06/09/03 The Zoo, Brisbane
05/09/03 Trocadero, Gold Coast
04/09/03 Uni Bar, Newcastle
30/08/03 Holy Grail, Canberra
29/08/03 The Metro, Sydney
28/08/03 Uni Bar, Wollongong
23/08/03 Uni Bar, Adelaide
22/08/03 Hi-Fi Bar, Melbourne
02/08/03 The Metro, Sydney
01/08/03 The Corner, Melbourne
31/07/03 Rob Roy, Melbourne
30/07/03 Tivoli, Brisbane
19/07/03 Splendour In The Grass, Byron Bay
12/07/03 The Spanish Club, Sydney
10/07/03 Beach Road Hotel, Sydney
31/05/03 The Annandale Hotel, Sydney
30/05/03 Northern Star, Newcastle
24/05/03 The Evelyn, Melbourne
23/05/03 The Espy, Melbourne
17/05/03 Great Northern, Byron Bay
16/05/03 The Healer, Brisbane
21/03/03 Gaelic Club, Sydney
20/03/03 The Corner, Melbourne
13/03/03 Beach Road Hotel, Sydney
22/02/03 Hopetoun Hotel, Sydney
21/02/03 Hopetoun Hotel, Sydney
01/02/03 The Empress, Melbourne
31/01/03 The Corner, Melbourne
30/01/03 Bridge Mall Inn, Ballarat
25/01/03 Big Day Out, Sydney
24/01/03 The Metro, Sydney
15/01/03 Festival Bar, Sydney
08/01/03 The Metro, Sydney

2002

2001

31/05/03
Annandale Hotel

Decoder Ring, Architecture In Helsinki, The Devoted Few

Vibewire.net review
by Monica Tan

Architecture in Helsinki has a sound that blends indie rock and pop with synth-electro. In fact, it appears that a lot of emerging, exciting Aussie bands have decided that the key to creating a unique sound all your own is to not constrict yourself in a genre and to merge styles; this is precisely what Architecture have done. They are both delicately whimsical and sweetly nostalgic, with a restrained emotion that most often surfaces with the to and fro between lead vocalists Cameron Bird and Kellie Sutherland.
For an eight piece band their songs utilise an amazing number of instruments. Throughout their set I saw a clarinet, trombone, tuba, flute, keyboards, guitars, drums, shakers and a mini xylophone; not to mention the range of body created instruments, which include clapping, child-like voices and shouts, and mouth popping. With so many instruments being played simultaneously, there's the danger of the entire thing collapsing in a heap. But instead, Architecture in Helsinki manages to draw on all the melodies, interweaving them together in a finely orchestrated fashion to create a colourful musical landscape.

Decoder Ring too use layers, but with a different approach. For starters, Decoder Ring is singer-less. For most bands, songs without words are a very scary prospect. You'll be lucky to find even one or two instrumentals on most albums. And yet, adding voice to Decoder's sound would most definitely take away from their powerful blend of electronica and rock. It would take us somewhere far more grounded and ordinary.
Instead, Decoder relies on a variety of sounds: from heavy guitar action verging on metal, deep bass and driving drums offset with twinkling keyboard melodies; to an assortment of synth-ambient-electronic sounds. All of which culminates to create a complex soundscape that Decoder actively invite us to step into and explore. It is music to be listened to, not just heard, and to fully appreciate them one must completely emerge in the music, which the audience of this sold out show most certainly did.

For songs that don't implicitly 'say' anything, they are surprisingly emotional, and often tinged with sorrow. I'm not sure if this was unique to the performance, being an emotional finale for bass and keyboardist Geoff Towner, who is leaving the group. The ethereal nature of their songs was complemented by Simon Killalea's extraordinary visuals, playing out like organic visual manifestations of the music we were listening to.
All in all, it was an astonishing and moving exploration, showing us that music doesn't just have to be popular, it can also be art - complex, compelling and ultimately enlightening.

* * * * *

I won two free tix and an album from a Decoder Ring comp in Drum Media. I've seen the ring twice before, both being mind blowing experiences. This gig at the Annandale exceeded ALL my expectations.

These guys are our generations Pink Floyd!!

And I think it's showing with the gig selling out before the boys even took the stage! I emailed their management before the gig to check if taping was cool, it is, and encouraged! I took the clips off the ATs and sticky taped them to the inside of my beanie tonight, getting a bit chilly in Sydneytown... I was about 5 meters from the stage, dead center. Although the mics were pretty much AB, the proximity to the speakers gave a nice stereo effect. The tape came out really well and has been on constant rotation since. Once again, DECODER RING! see you in the grass!

http://members.optushome.com.au/mattboland/gear/gear.htm