Some gigs fade into memory as nothing more than a fun night, others we try desperately to forget… and then there are the few that we know we’ll always remember. They’re the honest, personal, sometimes elaborate performances that sit apart from the rest. They’re usually put together by a band who are at the top of their game, or maybe they just happen to be your favourite band putting on the sort of show you’d been waiting years to see. In the case of The BellRays, one of America’s finest live bands, we were all expecting a good show – but what we got was something much more than that. We were given a one-of-a-kind experience that none of us will ever forget.
Performing before the Californian quartet were Melbourne The Demon Parade, who we caught up with a few months ago. This is one tight band, the sort where you know what you’re going to get and they deliver it in droves. The music they lean towards is that of the Jesus and Mary Chain variety, that local artists like The Laurels (look in particular at “Black Cathedral”) have also championed, mixed in with plenty of great classic rock and roll riffs, reminiscent of some of the best moments of The Vines (and yes, that is a compliment). Many tracks blend into the next, as is common of the genre, but as with any stand out band of the genre, they have plenty of highlights that stick out along the way. “My Hurricane” was one of these highlights, with broader melodies, as well as a new track in “Open Up Your Mind”. Definitely a band to check out when you next have a chance.
And then it was time for The BellRays to take to the stage. We’d been given the heads up earlier in the day that lead singer Lisa Kekaula had lost her voice, and from the first notes it was clear that she was struggling. Anyone who has seen Lisa in the past knows what a dynamite she is in the vocal department, and you could tell she was incredibly disappointed by the situation. A few songs in, with a hoarse voice, she somberly told the crowd “I don’t blame you if you want your money back”. But what the response to that saw was one of huge support from the crowd; many screamed we love you and one even offered a hug, to which she replied “now isn’t the time for that” and requested no one to put any of “this shit on the internet”. She went on to finish a song early, knowing she couldn’t hit the notes, but from the song that followed, and for the rest of the night, she didn’t stop. She put everything she had into each and every song, making it all the more powerful, and entirely memorable.
She jumped into the crowd in tracks like “Tell The Lie”, something not common of a BellRays set (at least in my experiences), imploring the crowd to help her out and sing along. She pointed to just about each and everyone down the front, asking us to “help her get high!”. She of course meant vocally. But it didn’t seem like she needed any help by the end of it, with the beaming singer nailing plenty of her famous wails and improving as the evening continued. But it clearly was taking every ounce of her energy to make it happen.
When the band left the stage, no one expected them to return, but they came back for three tracks, including “Blues For Godzilla” and a “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” repertoire that saw Lisa once again head into the crowd. Her backing band, meanwhile, were impressing from start to finish. Bob Vennum is an undeniably superb guitarist, and helped hold things together while Lisa pushed through the set.
From a start to the night that broke your heart knowing how much Lisa was struggling, to an end that felt victorious for all of us, the set we got from this band was one of the most honest and intimate performances I think I’ll ever be likely to see. This was a band who had been thrown a curve ball but handled it with grace and gave it all the passion they could muster. Lisa, you are one hell of a woman. What a night. And as special as a night it was, we certainly hope she’s feeling better now.
