IN REVIEW: ETHEL CAIN BRISBANE
WRITTEN BY JOHN BIRRELL
The serotonin was massive at the Cremorne theatre for Ethel Cain’s second night, despite the fact by far the most popular drug of dependence in use among the audience was Lexapro.
Local bedroom pop starlet Katie Dey was the opener. As she warbled through a vocoder over a super Nintendo-esque backing track that swirled, throbbed and beeped manically, I remember thinking,’ you know when a mouse runs in the room, and you’re like fuck there’s a mouse? This music is how the mouse feels in that moment.’
All of the songs were moving and memorable but by far the highlight was a cover of My Chemical Romance’s Helena, accompanied by the crowd who murmured every word, comprised as it was of former emos who on coming out the closet had left their fishnets behind them.
Very shortly after Katie Dey packed down, Hayden Silas Anhedonia walked on stage, accompanied by drummer and guitarist (I have no idea what their names are), bringing the welcome news that, even after all of this time, she still calls home that house Nebraska. It was like Jesus Christ had entered the room – she was even dressed like a carpenter.
The performance was epic. It was like seeing Lana Del Rey in a small room with 50 people, if Lana could actually sing in tune and was forklift certified. From time to time Hayden would reach into the audience and take fan’s hand. You could see her caressing the hand with her thumb in a tender, maternal way. I recall once such audience member shrieking in tongues.
The crowd was a mixture of hyperactive zoomers, dejected millennials and a few ‘Daughters of Cain’ dotted around wearing hand sewn lacey frocks in an iconic blend of home-schooled and homo. Everyone was super into it.
For me the best track was Throroughfare, but I’m a country music fan. The energy in the room was highest for Gibson Girl, with the crowd bumping and grinding along politely. Crush was the closer, with American Teenager the encore – the latter song famously tweeted by Barack Obama earlier this year.
Speaking of Presidents perhaps the most important moment of the show was when an audience member handed up what appeared to be a US flag. Hayden unfurled it proudly then dropped it in horror when she realised what it was – in the centre of those stars and stripes was an image of Nicki Minaj, clad in lingerie, throwing up the military salute of the commander in chief of Barb Nation.
This could be proof of what has long been rumoured - that Hayden is not in fact a massive barb… which is a shock to say the least.
