Gig Reviews: Fefe Dobson, with Siren at the Monto Water Rats, 15th March 2011

by Gary Smith

So I arrived at the Monto Water Rats in Kings Cross to see the final stage of the sound check for Siren... This was the point when I decided that this was going to be an awesome night!

Siren are a five peice band, which has a female singer, and they provide some great music direct from depths of the rock greats of the past 20 years (has it really been that long since the 90's???)  They have a few backing tracks of pre-recorded sequences, which was exacty how this gig started before you were all of a sudden thrown in to the realms of something outstanding to see.  The upbeat tempo of the whole set was a real treat, and made my Tuesday night feel like a Friday night!

They did a very good job of encouraging the crowd to get closer to the stage, and to interact more which is a very nice thing for a warm up act to do as it really helps to keep you keen.  The sound level on the vocals were perfect - somewhat reminiscant of some of the vocals in the rock opera, "Repo - The Genetic Rock Opera", and I could, unusually, hear every word that was sung with the raw vocal talent that had been portrayed.  The level on the guitar, I felt, was a little too low which was a shame, but nothing that a compressor pedal couldn't fix!

There was alot of energy thrown at you, and you couldn't help but love the sound.  They pulled off a couple of beautiful ballads, that in their true classic rock style started you off lightly and by the end was really getting you moving.  There was even the guitar solo at the end!  There was alot of movement provided from the band alone, also - and was excellent to see a vocalist make great use of her arms and not looking lost on stage because there is not much to hold on to!

"Arrows", currently in production, was a great song, with some very nice bass parts and wonderous dynamics with the vocals and drums.  They got the crowds in the mood for the rest of the night really nicely aswell, by showing some love to Fefe Dobson, due on stage before too long.  The guitar sound improved when the guitar was switched over for "Sunrise", which was yet another great song... they just seemed to be coming more and more!

Siren had attracted quite a large crowd, especially for a warm-up, let alone a Tuesday!  Tey had practically half filled the room, but a little while after their set, I noticed the room double in capacity as the eagerness for Fefe drew ever closer... she was only ten minutes late!

There are some welcoming sounds as she steps on to the stage , and everyone faces away and she starts up the beat in perfect unison to the drummer... a few bars later, she almost brings the house down with her immense effort and that from the whole band that brings you to the limits of alternate, heavier, rock.  Both guitarists supplied some great backing vocals throughout too.

The energy was practically non-stop from start to finish, and every pause, and punch was absolutely flawless.  What I liked most about this Canadian rock star's set was the fact that no two songs sounded the same, and scraping across several genres, whilst still keeping the heart of the music the same.  It was also very nice to hear so much backing vocals coming from the crowds for such a small venue!

During the set, they played "Watch Me Move", and as you can imagine, this does make you want to move - so much so on stage that Fefe jumped in to beome part of the crowd!  She also played "Joy", which has only recently been released in Canada and North America, so we are not lucky enough over here as yet for that, but this is a very typical Honky Tonk style song, which went down a treat when she played it only last week in Nashville, Tennessee.  Her voice was very suited to this, and showed us another talent as she played an acoustic guitar for this song at the same time.  Now show some love to the roadie for taking the acoustic away... "Thanks Ray!"

The mix of sounds, instruments, vocals and talents given off during this set was a real treat to be a part of, and made for a very enjoyable midweek night.  "Ghost" came to a sudden end, and Fefe thanked the crowd, before all punching back in together for the final introduction to the band, with a nice powerful instrumental to complete my evening.

"Thanks Ray!"