Last week I spent a ridiculous amount of money on seeing gigs I can't afford. I was lucky enough to grab a ticket to see Sonic Youth perform their classic album Daydream Nation at Melbourne’s reinvented Metro nightclub (now known slightly confusingly as the Palace) and aside from some serious sound issues, it was a great night. Seeing Kim Gordon take centre stage, prancing around like she-just-don’t-care is pretty darn special- amazing how present-day their sound is, despite the album in question being released a whole twenty years ago.

I also managed to get along to see Texas band Explosions in the Sky earlier in the week. The band played to a sold-out crowd who hung on their every majestic guitar riff, pleading for an encore but to no avail- “We put so much into the performance that we simply couldn’t come back for an encore” straight from main-man Munaf Rayani’s mouth. So there you go.

Funny though, how last night I stumbled across a free show put on by local bands at Melbourne’s Bar Open which veritably knocked my socks off, in an entirely different league to the previous two gigs, despite the above performers’ esteem and their shows’ associated price tags.

Bar Open is a Fitzroy institution currently celebrating its tenth birthday and hosting a series of free gigs to celebrate. One of my favourite local bands This is Your Captain Speaking were to be playing with support from multi-instrumentalist and ambient artist Seth Rees as well as emerging band The Spheres.

Seth Rees solo (though accompanied by rotating drummers) was a gentle taster as to what the rest of the evening would entail. As naïve as it may be, I was extraordinarily impressed by the striking sounds that the two blokes, along with guitar and drum kit were able to produce.

The Spheres were an absolutely stunning addition to the line-up. I think I fell in love with each band member at least three times over the course of their performance, their divine instrumental tunes providing the soundtrack to the lives I conjured up with each of them. Shimmering imagery projected onto the band by their very own video artist completed their brilliant set.

And finally. This Is Your Captain Speaking were up. Their debut album Storyboard (released in 2005) became a staple in my household last year and is probably THE sole reason I started listening to instrumental-type music. I have since become enamoured of the essentials (Mogwai, Sigur Rós, Tortoise, Godspeed… and fellow Melbourne band Because of Ghosts) so it was kind of a given that I was going to enjoy the set.

Tonight This Is Your Captain Speaking played only a single track off Storyboard, the rest of their performance comprised entirely of new pieces which will make up the new album, out later this year.  It was amazing to see both rooms of Bar Open’s performance space populated with all types, mostly sitting, in silent awe, while the band's tunes crescendoed from the softest of guitar rattles to thunderous harmonies and then back again. It’s impossible to describe the beauty and the melancholy that this band creates with their instruments. It is truly heart-stirring stuff.

I certainly acknowledge that it's bloody difficult to replace the hair-on-the-back-of-your-neck-standing-up goodness that you experience upon finally seeing landmark bands like Sonic Youth. However it’s important to bear in mind that there are plenty of local, lesser known treats out there for all to enjoy and be moved by, especially for the time-rich/money-poor (/those with suspended phone service due to unpaid bills) among us.

Audible Lines is a beautifully packaged CD/DVD by The Spheres and is available via www.rarerecords.com.au.

This Is Your Captain Speaking play a gig at the Northcote Social Club in Melbourne on the 3^rd of April (Tix $10 at the door). Storyboard is available through resonantlabel.com.