While the British music invasion is well-documented and continuing even today (Radiohead and Coldplay anyone?), it would be harder to make the case for an Australian invasion. But the success of three Aussie bands have prompted a tour of exactly that name: The Aussie Invasion Tour with The Living End, Jet and The Vines.Boston traffic cut The Living End off of my concert experience; the group had just left the stage when I finally entered the club. But its set had apparently been impressive enough to win some new fans-the room was practically buzzing with praise and a crowd had formed around the band's merchandise table as new fans clamored to get its album.
The Living End is one of the more consistently solid bands on this tour. Debuting in 1998 with Hellbound, the pop-punk rockers have established a solid U.S. fan base, but haven't garnered the kind of mainstream success that their tour-mates have. Judging from the reception at Avalon, however, they may find themselves in that spotlight sooner than expected.

Jet, on the other hand, has already completely infiltrated American culture as the band that plays "that song from the iPod commercial." You know the song: "I said one, two, three / take my hand an come with me / 'cuz you look so fine / I just really gotta make you mine!"
Although it's better known as "The iPod Song," Jet's hit "Are You Gonna Be My Girl" has gotten the band massive MTV and VH1 airplay, countless radio spots and the status of practically-a-household-name. Physically, the band is, much smaller than it appears on the screen (lead singer Nic Chester is especially much thinner and smaller in real life), but not lacking in presence at all.

After a rather long instrumental opening, Jet launched into its newest single "Cold Hard Bitch," which basically sounds like every rock 'n roll song written in the last 35 years. In fact, that familiarity was the underlying theme of their entire set. From the especially corny "Rollover DJ" to "Look What You've Done" to "Get What You Need" and even to the rousing and rocking performance of "Are You Gonna Be My Girl," Jet managed to sound exactly like its influences and not much else. Even the titles of the group's songs speak to this contrivance: both "Look What You've Done" and "Get What You Need" are references to, if not actual complete lyrics, from Beatles and Rolling Stones songs ("Sexy Sadie" and "You Can't Always Get What You Want," respectively).

That lack of originality made for a set that was musically well-performed, but not horribly exciting. There was nothing new to be heard, nothing that would make the listener sit up and take notice. Instead, there was a truly bizarre mix of 16-year-old children and adults between the ages of 35 and 45 who were rocking out to the same music. It seemed the adults could appreciate Jet for their derivative and throwback sound, and the younger members of the crowd got and introduction to this music for the first time. At least the band served a purpose.

The Vines carry with them a reputation as one of the crazier bands out today- literally, crazier. Lead singer Craig Nicholls is a self-professed compulsive liar, and is constantly described by friends, family and journalists as "Crazy. No, really insane." Nicholls failed to live up to his reputation Saturday, seeming only drunk and a bit confused. "Amnesia" and "Ride" (from the band's most recent Winning Days) were both well-executed and relatively passionate, as was "Outtathaway!" from the band's hit debut Highly Evolved. However, the rest of the set was simply unintelligible confusion. Nicholls swayed at the microphone, tossing it about in a pseudo-Kurt Cobain way that served more to annoy than to impress. The audience took up chanting "Get! Get! Get!" (which, for a little while, sounded suspiciously like "Jet! Jet! Jet!") between songs as a demand for the band's mega-hit "Get Free" which they performed only a few songs before leaving the stage without an encore.

With all the hype surrounding The Vines, they were incredibly boring to watch. Nicholls and the rest of the band ceremoniously destroyed some equipment at the end of their set, except for the guitars, as Nicholls considers them to be sacred "except for acoustic guitars, which are the devil's instrument." Funny to hear that coming from a young man who manned an acoustic guitar that very night for a couple of songs, isn't it?
The fundamental problem with the Aussie Invasion Tour is not lack of talent, it's lack of originality. While some may say that they don't need originality, they play rock 'n roll, musical originality is exactly what makes a concert exciting. When every song sounds like something you've already heard, there's no anticipation, no expectation. It turns the concert (in and of itself a very active and interactive experience) into a passive listening experience, where the audience is simply expected to cheer at the end of a song or set, and to dance when the spirit moves them. That's not what a concert should be.

A concert should be an experience that causes the listener to understand the music they're hearing in a whole new way. The studio has done so much to revolutionize live music, if simply by requiring studio-based bands to figure out a way to play those intricate songs live. With that new and exciting frontier completely ignored by this tour, there just isn't much left for the audience to do.