WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2013Live Review: BOHJASS UPAS MILITIA, PATAPHYSICS, SPENCER P JONES AND THE ESCAPE COMMITTEENorthcote Social Club: Andy Hazel
Despite there being only fifty-odd people in the audience by the time Bohjass Upas Militia (BUM) take to the stage, excitement courses through the venue.  This seventeen-piece explorchestra of jazz-funk-psych minimalism match the low-fi cosmic projections beautifully. Opening with some brassy, noir-ish toning and spectral percussion, the band show an astonishing level of restraint and silence, leaving the tension of what ‘could’ suddenly explode from the crowded stage lingering through their quieter movements. The band leap from killer blaxploitation funk and delicate minimalism to Sun Ra freakouts in the tight constraints of a song-length piece, with a mere raising of bandleader Timothy Pledger hand. At times BUM’s rhythm section sound like a programmed backing as it’s so unusual to see and hear such intricate combination of sounds. Swimming Pool is a blast of exuberant space funk and highlights the fluidity of the guitars and insistence of the brass; the music never feels as crowded as the stage looks. Launching their album Beneath the Nightless Sky tonight, this is a fascinating, unique band and a blast of a show.

bohjass upas militia rex o lube live at the falls festival 2013
diego villalta gtr...belinda woods flute...chris lewis percussion...gemma horbury trumpet...mike portley drums...tim pledger sax...daniel brates drums...rob simone sax...ali watts bass...luigi portararo percussion...tom fryer gtr...

bohjass upas militia...the sunshines out of my only glory is to see         the yurodivye song...bohjass upas militia...live at the falls 
you smiling, amen for michael portley...julian wilson sax..                      festival lorne 2013
lachlan maclean sax...phil day trumpet..                                                 diego villalta gtr...belinda woods flute...chris lewis percussion
robert simone sax..tim pledger sax..gemma horbury trumpet                gemma horbury trumpet...mike portley drums...tim pledger sax
.james macauley trombone ...diego villalta gtr...                                    daniel brates drums...robert simone sax...ali watts bass...
harry shaw reynolds drums...luigi portararo percussion..                      tom fryer gtr...luigi portararo percussion
andrew james piano...ben carr sax...
ali watts bass...daniel brates drums...belinda woods flute