Cabins (pictured below) kicked things off with some loud bluesy rock and roll. Whether you arrived in time for them or The Vasco Era, it would have been a similar treat, but I think those that made it just that little bit earlier would have been pretty chuffed! The second song of the night, “Mary” was an early favourite and got things off to a killer start. Album namesake “Hounds” was another highlight. This is truly a band coming into their own and leaving a trail of ringing eardrums in their wake. This being a good thing, of course. Maybe it was the soundsystem, but the impact of the drums was truly highlighted in tonight’s set as well. And things got extra bluesy when long haired Leroy brought out the acoustic guitar. A great set, as always!
Sid O’Neil of Apollo Bay’s The Vasco Era (pictured below) opened up proceedings solo and acoustic, and then launched seamlessly into band mode for the brilliant “When We Forgot To Ask Ourselves Why It Ever Came”. The set which followed was quite similar to what I experienced at the Oxford Art Factory back in April (review HERE). Hey, why mess with a good thing? “Happiness is a Warm Gun” once again brilliantly mixed things up with “When It First Showed Up” off of Seaside. Lucille, their latest album was of course the focus of their set. Screaming Lord Sutch’s “Jack The Ripper” was covered again, too, and the encore was, naturally, “Honey Bee”. But what was not expected was a brilliant cover of Otis Redding’s “(Sittin’ on) the Dock of the Bay”, performed solo by Sid, which awarded the band a lot of praise from an impressed crowd, and closed out the night.
I don’t think the band themselves thought they were up to scratch due to lack of audience participation, however, but I reckon that was further from the truth. The encore alone set the house on fire. And when Sid jumped backwards onto the drum kit, bashing away as he screamed “I ain’t no stick in the mud!!” – well, how can you not love that?
While surprisingly not sold out (they did have competition from Grizzly Bear, Kasabian, The Philly Jays and plenty more around town that evening, mind you!), the Annandale sure felt packed as the four long haired dudes (and one short haired dude, Alec Higgins on keyboards) of Alberta Cross (pictured above and below), took to the stage. They launched straight into album opener “Song Three Blues”, hooking the crowd from the first note.
Wearing his signature hat, and sounding more like Robert Harvey from The Music than I ever realised, Petter Ericson Stakee proved himself to be an excellent frontman. But along with the whole band, he did little to “spice things up” from what we know and love off their debut LP, Broken Side of Time. I do suppose, however, when you’re such a new band travelling the world, it’s fair not to take any risks with the content your fans adore, and it did little to take away from the performance.
The result is simple: if you loved it on the record, you loved it live. One exception was “Rise From The Shadows”, which they introduced as a “little gospel number”. This was indeed one song spiced up considerably live – with two keyboards at the end making for quite an impressive performance. Meanwhile, album closer “Ghost of City Life” was absolute perfection live.
After playing through the entire album, and “Ramblin’ Home” off their EP, everyone expected the popular “Lucy Rider” to appear as the encore. Instead, Petter (yes, that’s how it’s spelt) brought the crowd a relatively unknown acoustic gem – a fantastic way to close out the evening, despite being a track I couldn’t tell you the name off!
Sure they’re not doing anything groundbreaking live, but considering the depth of the album, it’s impressive that they’re able to transfer it into the live environment so faithfully. And kudos to their sound engineer, who gave the Annandale some of the best sounds it’s heard in a long while! Alberta Cross are definitely a band to discover if you have yet to get your hands on their debut. And if you like it, then you’ll absolutely love them live.
Setlist
Song Three Blues
Taking Control
Ramblin’ Home
Old Man Chicago
City Walls
The Thief & The Heartbreaker
Ghost of City Life
Leave Us and Forgive Us
Broken Side of Time.
Rise From The Shadows
ATX
Encore: Unknown Track (Acoustic)
All Photos by Larry Heath
