Cuthbert and the Nightwalkers@ The Hopetoun (31/11/08)

Fri 7th Nov, 2008 in Gig Reviews

Cuthbert and the Nightwalkers Halloween Special seems a name apt for a Halloween slasher flick; but instead it was the return of the band affectionately known amongst Sydney local’s as “Cuthbert’s Choir”.

Plush cows named Scary Dairy (or Dairy Canary depending on who you asked) joined the band on stage whilst their bassist and keyboardist were decked out in the appropriate Halloween apparel. A multitude of riotous punters were pleasantly boozed for the evening and happy to chorus along to more well-known tracks such as Telephone, Newtown La La La and that one song that everyone except me seems to adore – Red Frogs. Down the front, Priscilla Queen of the Desert-esque girls, clad in sky-hgigh wigs, passed out the little red sweets to all, but this still didn’t make the song any less damn twee.

Support came from one of Sydney’s finest up-and-coming talents, We Say Bamboulee, who Ritchie Cuthbert may have spied when he judged a band comp at University of Sydney this year. With their fun and fresh blend of funky rhythms and underlying melodic pop-rock, they undoubtedly deserve the finalist slot they pulled for themselves.

Hats off to Ritchie Cuthbert for, as usual, being a front man full of energy and pizzaz and for braving the rest of the evening to be the last man standing. Nothing was getting in the way of a Halloween celebration for this band – not even sonic dog barks, nor the head of a stuffed pig being merrily thrown into the Hoey’s undulating fans.

Cuthbert and the Nightwalkers may not be the most musically diverse or even technically tight band, but what they lack in precision they make up for in providing a good ol’-fashioned bloody ripper of a night out. Thanks kidlets. Merriment was had by all