Veruca Salt @ The CornerHotel, 09/01/05

Mon 10th Jan, 2005 in Gig Reviews

After seeing Veruca Salt on their tour in 2003, I had no desire to see them on this tour. But my curiosity eventually got the better of me, and I decided to check out the band that had shattered my illusions 17 months ago.

Cockfight Shootout were the first support act, and had a handful on punters on hand to watch their set. They ran through a cut back set including Step In Line and A Question of Guilt. I hadn’t heard much from them, only great reviews from friends. However, they weren’t quite my cup of tea, so I headed back to the beer garden.

For some bizarre reason, I thought Dakota Star were a Japanese punk band. Unfortunately, they aren’t. Unusually bland, and really lacking character, I was disappointed with what they had to offer. Chiaki did her best to ignite the crowd by name dropping Melbourne and Australia close to 20 times in the set. It didn’t work. The only things that seemed to raise the room’s heart rate was the offer of free merchandise (thanks for the shirt, guys).

The only song that seemed to stand out which they said was featured in Gran Turismo 4 (I didn’t catch the name, and couldn’t find it online). You could really imagine being in a high speed chase with that playing in the background. It was definitely the set highlight. Perhaps it is Dakota Star typically, but they seemed less than inspired and tired. It’s certainly not what I was expecting. They came across as a run-of-the-mill corporate rock band you’d hear twelve times a day on commercial radio, not unlike Live or Creed.

Veruca Salt. I honestly don’t know what I can write that will do justice to the band. They were THAT good. Last time it was a mess, the whole thing was a shambles. But somehow, the phoenix Louise Post rose from the ashes of Veruca Salt has surpassed all expectations. She surpassed the expectations I had for this gig, along with those I held 17 months ago. As Louise stepped on stage, her arms raised over her head, with a look of triumphant defiance splashed across her face, I realized what an accomplishment this must be for her.

Nina Gordon is sorely missed. And she always will be. It is quite apparent during renditions of the songs she’s written(Seether, and Volcano Girls for example), but it doesn’t matter anymore. “Why?” I hear you ask? It’s quite simple: Louise wrote songs too. Blissful Queen was undeniably the song of the night. Hearing the whole crowd sing in unison with Louise was truly breathtaking.

The recurring thought I had was, “When did Veruca Salt become so trendy?”. The abundance of young fans was overwhelming, and gave me a warm, fuzzy feeling, but their ability to look the same was disappointing (I missed the memo about having to wear an Emily the Strange shirt to the gig, apparently). That being said, Louise’s claim that, “Veruca Salt has the best fans in the world!” cannot be refuted. From what I’ve seen at gigs lately, she was right on the money. Veruca fans are friendly, they’re devoted and they know how to rock out.

With new band additions of an ex-Mars Volta bassist, and a rip-roaring drummer, Veruca Salt finally seem complete again. Born Entertainer was what I was looking forward to most, and I wasn’t let down. Pulling out a set that included everything you’d want from the obvious choices of Spiderman and Victrola, to the surprising inclusions of Level 7 and Officially Dead, they left you wanting nothing more. It was Louise’s solo rendition of the Magic Dirt song TV, however, that really touched me.

Veruca Salt are back, my friends. Now let’s just pray Louise puts a stop to her self-confessed laziness and gives us the gift of a new album this year.