Villains of Wilhem, CloudControl & The John SteelSingers @ The Zoo (31/05/08)

Thu 5th Jun, 2008 in Gig Reviews

Being in a band with a sibling was the theme for the Zoo on Saturday evening. Whilst technically The John Steel Singers may be without blood relations between members, on stage they are one big happy family.

Taking the stage first where Brisbane locals, Villains of Wilhem, the energy of frontman Danny Wilhelm held the crowds attention, whilst he threw about the intense vocals and commanded the stage. The band together delivered an eclectic mix of rock, roll and punk. None the less, the boys delivered a set that was commendable, with the song title and lyrics sticking in my head to the track Elephant.

As the final performance of the tour between Cloud Control and The John Steel Singers, the crowd began to swell. The feet of Alister Wright are enough entertainment to the melody that blessed my ears from the vocals from both Wright and Heidi Lenffer. Cloud Control have perfected an intimate blues-country pop sound with enough support from the bass and drums to engage the crowd into a bopping motion. Having matured since the last time I saw them, there can only be greater things to emerge from the Blue Mountains, the home of Cloud Control.

Assembling a six-piece band (although I am sure there were more) on stage, with the addition of the “JSS Choir” and other friends into an incredibly cohesive and beautiful sound says an awful lot about the talent of the John Steel Singers. The ease in which The John Steel Singers, swap and change instruments and positions throughout the set would make the Brady Bunch jealous.

The sweet melodic tunes of The John Steel Singers brought smiles and a collective bopping of the crowd to whom enjoyed every second of the set. Covering all the tracks from their recently released mini-LP, The Beagle and the Dove, the crowd sung and swayed along to Strawberry Wine and everyone sang-along to Evolution.

Together on stage, for the conclusion of the night The John Steel Singers and Cloud Control performed a cover of Fleetwood Mac’s, You can go your own way, whilst there seemed to be an awful lot instruments and people on stage the effect was phenomenal. With the crowd blaring the lyrics and a stage full of musician’s it was fantastic musical mayhem. Alister Wright, of the Cloud Control led the lyrics with help from Lenffer as well as John Steel’s Trimmington Morissey. Through their collaborative effort you could truly see these bands held one another in high regard.