Even have been around for over a decade, and while they’ve never really found popular success, fans will tell you they put on one of the best live shows going around. For the release of new single Sister Rock, they’re taking the Spazzy’s and Tracey Redhead out on a national tour and launched the mainland leg of the tour with a show at Ruby’s Lounge in Belgrave. Unfortunately, not many people were there to see it.

The Lounge is almost completely empty when Tracey Redhead and cohorts take the stage. Early numbers Troubled Little Two and Where It Fits both start softly but take off when given room. Redhead’s songs have enough momentum to avoid lagging, and her voice is sultry yet smooth. The set gets a boost when she trades her acoustic for a big black electric, with a slamming distortion pedal to match. She also struts her stuff vocal-wise, hitting some extremely high notes. Incompetent King is an upbeat rocker, and Black As Night is almost toe-tappingly poppy. The handful of people who have gathered near the stage give her some well-deserved applause as the set comes to a close.

The Australian listening public had a drunken one night stand with the Spazzys when they released their first album, but they’ve been off the radar for a while now. They’re back with a new album and gave us a sneak peak tonight, playing mostly new songs. As usual, it’s full steam ahead for most of the songs, with the guitarists thrashing out at incredible speeds and the drummer doing doubly so on the skins. The combination of speed punk and hard rock is a little unusual for an Even support slot, but the crowd is getting into it. Unfortunately, as with previous work, too many of the songs sound the same, and aren’t individual enough. Old singles Hey and Sunshine Drive are as good as ever, but the Spazzy’s are in need of some musical diversity. Trash and Creep, which appear towards the end of the set, are two good examples of what they can do when they flex their creative muslces and hopefully they will continue to do so. And even if they don’t, the Spazzy’s are never dull live, and that’s especially true tonight.

By the time Even take the stage, the crowd still hasn’t swelled. Maybe some are put off by the poor weather or the fact that this tour will be back in Melbourne at the end of July at the better known Corner Hotel. Whatever the reason, it feels like Even are putting on a show just for the committed fans and they interact with the crowd throughout. Drummer Matt is not looking so good, and confirms that he is suffering with the flu. They open with new songs Common Law and softer love song Tangled Up, before playing the classic single Stop And Go Man. Even have always sounded better live than recorded, and tonight is no exception. The songs are sharper and as usual, Ash Naylor is in fine form with the guitar, ripping out solos at a moment’s notice. His years fronting Even have given him a gentle charisma, half rock superstar, half boy-next-door.

Black Umbrella is fantastic as always and then Naylor brings out an old Gibson for Rainbows and the 70s-retro-rock of Sister Rock. Don’t Wait and Weather Kings from debut album Less Is More are a real treat for old school fans, which most of us in attendance tonight definitely are – there’s barely anyone in the crowd under 25. Naylor and bassist Wally have a great repore, bantering back and forth, but it’s a pity there’s not enough people in the crowd for them to feed off. It’s a short set tonight, possibly because of the low numbers, but also because Matt is fading fast, although he’s still doing his usual excellent work on the drums.

They encore with just one song, the opening single from their new self-titled album and it’s a fine performance of I Am The Light to end the night. Once again Even have reminded us why we love them, with another excellent show – it’s just a pity that less than a handful of people were there to see it. Hopefully they’ll have better luck as the tour continues, because they really deserve it.