Redcoats kicked things off tonight. Heavy rock with plenty of thundering bass lines and enough hair to head bang too. For some reason my focus was on the bass player who was throwing his soul onto each song. A really good sound for these guys. At times bordering on psychedelic stoner rock with massive riffs that swamped the sparse vocals. A little like Wolfmother at times with a hint of Kyuss and Black Sabbath for good measure. Definitely a muso’s band with complex arrangements, time signatures and some mighty fine fretwork!
Boy In A Box are a bit closer to punk rock in sound. Perhaps more like Calling All Cars in the early days. Catchy and infectious songs. Great three-part harmonies added to good simple tunes make Boy In A Box a great live act. The songs were tight and the crowd warmed up to them. They could be a perfect pub band and I was impressed on my first exposure to them. Great cover of The Clash‘s version of I Fought The Law. You could see they were having good fun on stage and that always makes it enjoyable for the crowd.
After being massively impressed by their new album Dancing With A Dead Man I was keen to see how this album transpired on stage. Calling All Cars are known for their touring schedule so tonight was going to be a treat.
They’ve grown as performers since I first saw them a few years back. They worked the crowd. They know which songs will work and how to make it sound loud and generally rock the fuck out of a crowd. They have the stage presence of seasoned professionals and I still maintain they have the potential to just explode into the next level in Oz music.
Playing pretty much every track of Dancing With A Dead Man, they were able to recreate the album’s expansive sound to the live format, which for a three piece is no mean feat. Calling All Cars are finally living up to expectations. A solid live set on the back of a solid rock album can only lead to much, much better things.
