Hell City Glamours, TheChevron Whores, Hell & Whiskey@ Hard Rock Cafe (09/11/07)

Mon 12th Nov, 2007 in Gig Reviews

First on the bill tonight is local duo Hell and Whiskey . With an acoustic guitar and one mean sounding mouth harp, the boys play songs about drinking themselves into a coma and getting a bad case of the blues. Best described as a bluesy rock outfit the pair contrasts between hard hitting pub rock songs to some more cruiser ballads. With a vocal that can be compared to Lemmy from Motorhead these guys could really kick it up a notch with a backing band.

Local rock outfit The Chevron Whores gain immediate attention as they step onto the stage. With a lead singer who resembles Axl Rose (head scarf and all) mixed with a Michael Stipe type vocal it’s hard not to be intrigued. The band looked like a bunch of misfits as they all had different dress styles and mannerisms on stage but the music they were producing was sterling. Even the keyboardist was the spitting image of Prince should he ever decide to grow his hair. Punching out songs comparable to early Black Sabbath and guitar licks that Deep Purple would be proud of, the five piece sing about the hypocrisy that is the Gold Coast with the whole element of sex, drugs, rock’n’roll and posers, thus the piss take band name. The Chevron Whores will indeed have you screaming “Wock’n’Woll” down the corridors for times to come.

Headlining act Hell City Glamours burst onto the stage with a new found energy. After two songs into the set Drummer Robbie Potts breaks his snare drum after giving a performance Tommy Lee would be proud of; as lead singer Oscar McBlack calls out to support acts for a loan. The show continues with more intensity than the previous songs and the crowd are clearly digging it. Lead guitarist Mo Mayhem busts out some ripping licks and is highly underrated as he shows no ego, a rarity in 80’s influenced rock musicians. Bassist Jono Barwick dubbed Bad Jonny propels his bass around in frenzy as he feeds off McBlack’s energy who proceeds to leap offstage and stand on the bar continuing to play and sculling beer in between guitar licks. Ending with their best song White Trash Hot Love it leaves the crowd with a buzz and a thirst that can only be mastered by excessive alcohol.

This band has all the makings for rock’n’roll greats which is why I find it hard to believe this Sydney act has yet to release their debut album. They have achieved so much success riding on their EP releases, touring with Airbourne and Paul Stanley. This band is definitely on the way up so keep your eyes out the next time their tarago rolls into town.