An excellent night of Aussie Rock n’
Roll was set off in style by The Wahas, one of the few local
young bands left standing following Operator Please’s ride to stardom,
which gave hope to high school bands across the country. Indeed, most
of these guys are doing their HSC exams as we speak, but that certainly
didn’t slow them down, even on a Sunday night! With Xavier on drums
channeling his inner Dave Grohl, the band are truly starting to take
shape as some excellent Rock’n’Rollers. Every time I see them they
get better and better, and if they keep it up, the future should be
quite exciting for the boys.
The second supports were Adelaide heroes
Wolf & Cub, showing everyone how it’s done. Their brand of
psychedelic rock, with no less than two drummers, is completely their
own, and they become nothing less than rock gods when they unleash their
mastery on stage. And as self-confessed non-rehearsers, every time you
see them it’s a completely new experience. Even if you know their
music as well as I do, it really is like seeing them for the first time
every time, and there are next to no other bands out there who can pull
that off. I guess what I’m saying, in a nutshell, is that these guys
rock, and if you haven’t yet experienced them, get on your bikes!
With Wolf & Cub perfectly setting
the stage for what was to come, a fairly-calm-to-now all ages audience
promptly hit the mosh-o-meter as soon as Craig and the boys of The
Vines hit the stage with “Manager” off their new LP Melodia.
What followed was a great mix of old and new, plus a surprise cover
of “Hey Ya!,” Craig seemingly tired of their now-classic “Ms.
Jackson” rendition. And such was certainly a most enjoyable experience,
which can be said about the entire performance as well. Craig was in
particularly good spirits, and playing much of the show topless, he
certainly knew how to set the crowd into a frenzy. And he was having
a frenzy of his own on stage – jumping around, throwing himself into
the front of the crowd, and simply showing everyone how to have a good
time. Hamish, Brad and Ryan, meanwhile, leaving the theatrics to their
front man, showed off their formidable musical talents, sounding tighter
than ever in the process.
With this much rock in one evening,
and on a Sunday I might add, the whole affair was certainly a most enjoyable,
albeit exhausting one. But such didn’t stop the momentum from heading
out onto the streets and pubs until the wee hours of the morning, proving
once and for all that Sydney, and the bands that it has born (well 2
out of 3 of them anyway), can indeed rock and roll, all night long.
