The Cops, Expatriate, Colors @Amplifier Bar, Perth(11/10/2007)

Sun 14th Oct, 2007 in Gig Reviews

It was a good sized crowd for a school night when The Cops and Expatriate played Amplifier on Thursday for what they thought would be a warm up gig for Friday’s show. But if they thought they were going to slack off, they soon changed their minds as the front rows of the crowd pressed themselves up against the stage, bouncing and singing along, demanding more energy with each passing song.

Support act Colors were aware that the crowd wasn’t there to see them, but considering that there is virtually no mention of them on the Strange Creatures promotional tour material, it bears no reflection on their abilities. If the ubiquitous rabid fan is a sign of success, Colors are on their way.

They played a short set, gushed with gratitude to Expatriate and The Cops for having them along, but unfortunately they forgot to tell the audience the name of their band. The Boys owe a debt to Ben King from Expatriate who thanked them by name at the end of the night; If not for him, any new fans would have no idea who to look out for in the gig guides. They stuck around after their gig at least and were available to talk to anyone who approached them; vocalist Simon Fasolo, explained that the reason he was carrying a cryptic crossword around in his back pocket was because he suffers from panic attacks and the crossword takes his mind off it. Drummer Damien Fasolo looked like he was dressed for a job interview, but he was mesmerising to watch; his perfectly upright posture made it look like he couldn’t possibly keep time, but the grin on his face said he was enjoying himself immensely, and he never missed a beat.

On the Strange Creatures tour, The Cops and Expatriate are billed as co-headlining, the audience won’t know until they play who will be on first. This time it was The Cops who got first crack at the audience, managing to draw everyone inside to jump around. Guitarist Jarrod Murphy got his head out of the gastroenteritis sick-bucket and managed to make it through the entire set without mishap, much to the presumed relief of Expatriate, considering their thousands of guitars were stacked against the wall where he was playing. The Cops’ music is difficult to pin into one genre, they mash the sound of ‘80s indie with the ‘90s to create tunes you can’t help but dance to and songs to sing along to for days after the gig. They have songs you didn’t know you loved, and they sound like someone you once knew well, but just when you think you have them sussed, they begin a song completely unlike the last one.

Frontman Simon Carter, who looks tantalisingly like the new Dr Who, had no trouble engaging the audience, not to mention – œCraig’ who had a song dedicated to him regardless of what his real name was. Their set list ran from least well known up to The Message and Call Me Anytime and took the fans to a new level of excitement with each song so that by the time Expatriate’s Ben King joined them on stage to share the last song, half of the audience were dripping puddles of sweat on to the floor.

After a very short break for fans to towel off, Expatriate began their set, channelling the energy of the last set into a deeply intense goth-psychedelic experience quite different from their recorded sound. Bassist Dave Molland gave himself up to the experience early on, throwing his head back and letting the music pulse through him. Watching such obvious pleasure was contagious, and those too tired from the last set to keep dancing had the choice to feel the music with him.

For those who had had a breather and were ready to go again, King provided encouragement and guidance, much the way the devil leads the willing into temptation. When he revealed that they had been nominated for an ARIA, and that neither himself or Molland had a date, there was a flurry among most of the women and several men offering their services like true sinners.

It was a night for drummers, because Chris Kollias didn’t fit the drummer stereotype either, grinning at anyone who caught his eye, he didn’t seem to be exerting himself in the slightest, although the intensity was relentless. Molland joined him on the drum rostrum posing for the photographers, and conspiring to extend the song past when the others thought they would finish. They closed the night by inviting Simon Carter back to the stage to join them and finished with a satisfyingly grunged up cover of Everything But the Girl’s Missing.

If you didn’t see them this time around, you missed out, but they like Perth, and Perth likes them, so they will be back, look out for them next time.