Review: The Bats - Northcote Social Club

The pure sound of The Bats at Northcote Social Club Friday 8th August 2009.

As the curtain draws at the Northcote Social Club and the Bats are already on stage, playing the first few bars of their opening track, an image pops into my head: my red pencil case. When I was thirteen years old in Masterton (small town at the arse end of the North Island, New Zealand) I had ‘The Bats’ written in black marker on my red leather pencil case, right next to ‘Nirvana’. As far as I was concerned they were the coolest band ever. The fact that I’m finally getting to see them play live is something I’ve been excited about for the last month.

The sell out crowd tonight seem to be sharing my mood. The Bats have fake flowers intertwined around their microphone stands and drum kit and the mood in the venue is upbeat. However, it being a Melbourne/New Zealand crowd, we’re all standing still, arms folded, keeping a tight reign on our emotions.

In town to promote their great new album ‘The Guilty Office’ (distributed here by Mistletone Records) The Bats are pleased to be playing their first show here in five years. Throughout the night they play a set of recognisable old favourites and newer stuff and by the end of the concert we’re dancing because bassist Paul Kean tells us to. He says, “I want everyone to dance – even if you never dance. Didn’t you used to spin in a circle when you were a little kid?”

It’s a rare concert that can make you go from standing looking uptight to dancing as fast as you can and hugging the stranger next to you. The Bats do five encores and it’s still not enough. A man in front of me turns round and exclaims, “they’re just pure sound – pure sound!” I’m not sure what that means exactly but at the time it makes perfect sense.

Cass Scott