6th November at the Northcote Social Club in Melbourne.
It was the last Gorgeous (http://www.gorgeous-band.com/) gig in Melbourne (and second last all up - the final one will be in Brisbane some time). The reasons for the split are uncertain, though it seems that half of Gorgeous, Fi Claus, is returning to Brisbane, from Melbourne, where they originally hail from. Since Gorgeous arrived in Melbourne in 2003, their output slowed.
On the back of their first LP,'More', and the higly promising self-titled sophmore effort, they moved to Melbourne and released their third LP 'Twelve Plus One' (Thirteen is unlucky - and a Teenage Fanclub LP). 'Twelve Plus One' was a little disappointing after Gorgeous, and it was clear there was a divergence between the writing of Heeney and Claus emerging. Typically, the song writing responsilbities are split down the middle; tracks alternating Claus then Heeney then Claus then.. and so on.
Another challenge for the band, one that is arguable essential, was cracking Sydney. While Gorgeous played regularly in Brisbane, Melbourne, and even Newcastle, and was receiving airplay on JJJ, they never really established themselves in Sydney, and rarely visited.
Yet in the last two years, only two releases surfaced; an EP 'Air Balloon' in 2004 and a single in 2005, 'Big Fit Heart'. Both contain the assertive vocal workings of Fi Claus, but Heeney's soft delicate acoustic efforts shine through (and she dominates the songwriting on those two final releases).
And so to the final show, six months after 'Big Fit Heart' was released. The set was restricted almost exclusively to tracks off the three most recent releases; indeed, when an early song was requested; they laughed and said they couldn't remember it! The early tracks were played a little faster than the album versions, but once the nerves associated with a final gig settled down, so to did their rhythm.
One of the delights of seeing Gorgeous live is the intimate, two way excahnge with the audience. No mindless banter; the girls will often pause to explain what a song is, or isn't, about. For example, 'Work Your Way Down' is not the ode to oral sex that one might assume from listening to the track.
Gorgeous played for two hours - the song that received he loudest cheer, and justly so, was the beautiful and delicate 'Glock Song' (from 'Gorgeous') - it is perhaps the that most perfectly merges the acoustic harmony of Emma Heeney with the moodiness of Claus' violin and glock. They hardly touched their back-catalogue, amounting the five releases, and a cover of 'Little Suicides' on JJJ's 'Like a Version' album.
Gorgeous are a band that deserved to be more popular than they were. They wrote the right songs, they did it from the heart, and they were unashamedly original. Their last gig conveyed a sadness. Both are going on to new things; Claus has formed a new band in Brisbane, and Heeney is launching (or rather, continuing) a solo career.
