The Vasco Era, The Fumes, TheNovocaines @ Amplifier Bar,Perth (2/11/2007)

Mon 5th Nov, 2007 in Gig Reviews

”$20 not to write a review,” The Vasco Era frontman Sid O’Neil says, about two-thirds of the way through a shambolic set at Amplifier Bar, their second in as many days. I’m sorry Sid, but despite all the things that went wrong at this gig, you’ll have to try a lot harder than that to put on a bad show.

Opening the night were the newly-renamed The Novocaines. With their new name scribbled on a sheet of paper stuck over the kick drum, they sounded suspiciously like The Howlin’ Novocaines, the band that opened for the Vasco boys last time they were out here. Now maybe the daylight savings thing had the punters confused because despite this being one of Perth’s best young bands, they played to a relatively empty room at 8.30.

And The Fumes suffered he same fate. Granted, their punked-up blues enticed a fair few beer garden types in from outside but aside from a few excited fans at the front the Amps floor remained surprisingly empty for 10 on a Friday night. The two-piece drums/guitar formula has worked well for The Black Keys but, unfortunately, it wares a bit thin with all their followers. The energy coming from drummer Joel Battersby is infectious and the jangly boogie of tracks like Shake Them Bones and The Dogs goes down well but it’s telling when the biggest cheer comes after Automobile, a track that wouldn’t exist if Black Rebel Motorcycle Club hadn’t written Ain’t No Easy Way.

Arriving on stage at 10.30 while the air outside was still unexpectedly warm, The Vasco Era had the unenviable task of convincing the outside punters to head inside. As the headline act, the Victorian trio no doubt had more pulling power than the others but, judging by the amount of payers still outside midway through the first song, their task was a little tougher than usual. Beginning the show with his characteristic Fender steel guitar and a mouthful of something that wasn’t staying put, Sid teased the crowd in his usual style as bassist Ted O’Neil and drummer Michael Fitzpatrick lingered at the side of the stage. And within seconds, all three were firing on all cylinders for When it First Showed Up. Sporting a delightful Movember – œtache, Ted pummelled his bass through every one of the band’s stop-start rhythms while to his right, his brother seemed at home despite his lack of shoes exposing the fact he couldn’t find a matching pair of socks before the gig.

All pretty standard for a Vasco gig. Now here’s where it all got interesting. After howling his way through When We Were Getting to Forgiving You and a pilfered line or two from The Beatles’ Happiness is a Warm Gun, Sid’s frustrations boiled over when his gear let him down. One awkward silence and one guitar swap later, Sid addressed the crowd: “if this one doesn’t work I’m going to cry.” And after pressing on, it wasn’t long before his drums were in a pile on the floor, with The Fumes vocalist Steve Merry appearing on stage to mess around with what looked like an erratic pedal. But it all fired the trio up even more, as they used all that frustration to fuel a more intense half-hour. When We Forgot to Ask Ourselves Why it Ever Came and When We Tried to Get You to Settle Down set the band back on track and, after a solo moment for Sid on When We Tried to Party to Forget About it, live favourites Kingswood and When You Went put to rest any doubts as to whether the punters had got their money’s worth.

Can I have that $20 anyway?