Pinky Beecroft and the WhiteRussians, The Inches @ RoxanneParlour, Melbourne(18/09/2008)

Sat 20th Sep, 2008 in Gig Reviews

It was a double album launch at the Roxanne Parlour on Thursday night – with Melbourne lads The Inches joining Pinky Beecroft and the White Russians in a showcase of new and exciting local talent.

Joining the long (and still growing) line of resurgent 70s rock and roll bands, The Inches delivered their set of revivalist tunes with an energetic exuberance. Rocking about the stage like a truly learned rock frontman, Andrew Furze seemed as focussed on entertaining as he was on playing. Decked in an outfit rather appropriate for their sound – complete with waistcoat and necktie – Furze’s joyous movement saw him in every corner of the little parlour stage, thrashing about at the back with keyboardist Joe Cope and standing firm whilst staring down punters front and centre. All the while each other member could be seen throwing in excess energy as well, altogether forming one entertaining show.

Rock antics all round, The Inches jumped straight into top gear with their tempo and volume. Influences weren’t hard to spot either, with many guitar hooks – like those in Undercover – quite reminiscent of a Police sound. Then there was Dress Like Gods, for which Furze provided his best Bowie impersonation he could muster – almost to the point of plain mimicry. The only track introduced as new for the band, Excess used its bizarre vocal arrangements, awkwardly placed amongst a more mainstream rock sound, to provide a refreshing aside from the majority of the set. A hyperactive cover of Paul Kelly’s Dumb Things then rounded things off for the quintet. The Inches’ set was a solid reflection of their keen taste for the live scene and considering they’ve played enough shows recently to deem their debut album twelve months overdue, it came as no surprise.

Launch number two was underway as Pinky Beecroft and White Russians casually appeared on stage and set into Someone for Everyone. The start slow/build large approach to the song proved it to be an appropriate mood setter. “You look appropriately Melbourne… That’s reassuring,” quipped Beecroft as the crowd began to gather closer to the stage. His humour didn’t fail either and further dry remarks about the audience and his band proceeded to flow from the man’s mouth. Quickly defining his new band, the White Russians rocked through their reworking of Unsent Letter, which was amplified considerably from the original MGF version of the track. The rock base then continued without any retro slant like that of the Inches, as the band played through songs including I Will Tear It Down To Make You Happy and Real Good Time. The New Miss Sweden, from the band’s self-titled EP appeared also, showcasing the lightning talent of guitarist Nick Steward.

Opting to entertain the audience with complete randomness, Beecroft took his moments of banter to tell stories about himself confusing flight hostesses by asking them where the ATM is on the plane. Of course, it had nothing to do with anything, but the audience seemed to love it for just that fact. “I want to have at least one dance song,” Beecroft later remarked, before going on to explain he wouldn’t be able to keep the tempo for such a moment, “I can’t play 12/4!” What followed was a cover of Girls on Film, which unsurprisingly didn’t fail to fulfil Beecroft’s danceable wish.

The White Russians rounded out the set with the super fast and loud This Hangover and then the much subtler My Haircut Will Come Back Around, though their night wasn’t over. Returning to the stage by his lonesome, Beecroft seemed to regret giving the audience the opportunity for requests as he begrudgingly provided a ten second version of MGF’s The Girl of My Dreams after telling the requesting punter to quit living in 1999. With the band returning to the stage, Fabulous Driving finished up the White Russians set in the same way it had begun – starting shyly and building to a killer climax.