CHECK OUT THE PHOTOS FROM THE GIG HERE
It’s been twelve months since my last review of Cog at the Hi-Fi bar and knowing they had sold out two of those nights, they will most definitely sell this gig out at The Palace. Well what do you know? They did indeed. I’m constantly asking myself why these Aussie rock bands are selling out so many tours. At the end of the day it comes down to the quality of the music, genre of which they belong and if it appeals to those listening ears of our tasteful nation. I’m pretty much confident that Cog caters for all and more of the above. Either way, they seem to be doing something right.
To begin the night and as usual, I was inclined to tip a couple of pots up the road from the venue. I met up with my fuzzy haired friend, his lovely lass and another fella that I haven’t seen for some time. So despite the miserable weather in Melbourne, the company was grand.
We made our way down to the entrance around 9:45pm and caught a glimpse of New Zealand’s reggae/hip-hop five piece, Kora. Funky enough for my liking, they soldiered on with the likes of Skakenstein and Polictician and also took the liberty in heating things up. The moves and grooves were out early. Prior to their performance was another NZ act and first support, Jakob. Similar to the style to Kora, Jakob leaned a little more towards the post rock genre.
Two beers later and 10:45pm ticked over on my phone. It was time for Sydney’s three piece powerhouse to head onto the stage. There is one thing that I have noticed over the years of checking out Cog live in action and that’s their outstanding light display. Tonight was no exception. Usually consisting of blue and green colours, the lasers and LEDs were on parade with precision. The odd smoke cloud here and there didn’t go astray either.
To welcome the guys on stage was a John Farnham rock favourite – You’re The Voice. What a fantastic way to kick-start their set and boost the atmosphere. Sing-alongs were a must and as cans were waving in the air and folk were arm in arm, No Other Way had officially opened. The first thank you from the leader of the pack, Flynn Gower, was then spoken. Bird Of Feather was introduced to the set and was also accompanied by the first crowd surfing casualty. The atmosphere was just about to explode as Resonate followed. At his stage I was pumped and it looked like most others were too as the whole floor was bouncing. This is what its about, good times and great Aussie rock!
I felt that the crowd’s reaction from old tracks to new was noticeably louder. Cog’s newly release Sharing Space doesn’t seem to have the punch that The New Normal did but as Gower then expressed there was 10 months of lock down and intense recording in a sh*tty US country town so the dedication towards this album tells its own story.
Spine was then soon followed by the lads having a fair go at their album title track Sharing Space as did the bald headed baron swaying next to me who was becoming all elegant and spiritual with the music. Apart from this punter sporadically bumping into me, our view in the middle of the stairs was ideal to witness Lucius Borich’s unbelievable drumming skills. He was just in time to rev up for their ancient hit Moshiach. As the crew jumping on the floor didn’t have time for a breather, Flynn’s younger brother Luke, had a crack on the bass to bring the boys into My Enemy. If you weren’t sweating by that stage, there was something seriously wrong. After an hour and a quarter of pure adrenaline and no encore needed, they closed with Bitter Pills.
Although, I wasn’t too sure if it was really necessary for Flynn to engage in so many weird guitar changes. Once again, I wasn’t disappointed with Cog’s performance. They never cease to amaze.
