VHS Or Beta @ Heineken Green Room, Orange Club, 28.3.09

Another installment of Heineken Green Room has arrived, and VHS Or Beta was billed as the headliner. Other supporting acts include Djuma Soundsystem and local DJ Box Frenzy. Orange Club was the venue this time, fresh from the Battles gig a week ago.

By the time VHS or Beta hit the stage, the club was brimming over with people, clinking beer bottles and roaring shouts of excitement. The minute-long "Euglama" was playing at the background, accompanying the band to the stage before they burst into the starter notes of “Burn It All Down,” stimulating those synth and bass driven melodies that were enough for the audience to dance to.

Offering a tight band dynamic, VHS Or Beta demonstrated versatility with each member switching roles playing different instruments at some points. Guitarist/vocalist Craig Pfunder and Mike McGill's incredible guitar work, coupled with Mark Palgy funky basslines, Chea Beckley's soaring keyboard as well as Mark Guidry's thumping dico-like drums, the band did a phenomenal job of and losing themselves in song and crunchin' out some decent retro electro rock.

Newer tracks from the latest album "Bring On The Comets" like “She Says” and “Burn It All Down" were the main focus of their set, peppered with older materials as well such as "You Got Me" and "Alive". Encore saw VHS Or Beta diving into lead single "Can't Believe A Single Word", before ending the set with the climatic crowd pleaser "Night On Fire" sending the audience into a literal sea of hands clapping while shouting, ‘Put your hands together and we’ll light this night/We’ll light this night on fire.’

VHS Or Beta's overall sound was so clean, sharp and soaring that there isn't any doubt that they are a decent and solid live act. It was an very enjoyable gig indeed, or maybe the only thing I could probably find wrong with the performance was that the lead singer’s long hair pretty much shielding him from the audience the whole set. It was certainly rather surprising and rare though to listen to such amazing soundsystem in local live scene, given the few bad experiences in previous gigs. I went in knowing little about this Kentucky dance-funk enterprise and was hooked and emerged a fan after that. Bring on the next Heineken Green Room!

VHS Or Beta - Burn It All Down
VHS Or Beta - She Says