Mike Noga & The Gentlemen ofFortune, The Young Liberals,At Sea @ Step Inn, Brisbane(14/02/2009)

Sun 15th Feb, 2009 in Gig Reviews

Most people in the know will be aware of Mike Noga’s work with one of Australia’s finest live bands The Drones. Well it seems he’s not satisfied with the already hectic touring schedule imposed by said band, so he’s hit the road again but has now stepped out from behind the kit to the foreground as Mike Noga and The Gentlemen of Fortune.

Opening the night is Brisbane’s At Sea, with a moody creeper of a song, which is used as a great introduction to the rest of the set. The band itself is fairly standard drums, two guitars, bass, dirty swamp garage blues rock, with some interesting knob twiddling on effects pedals, which is not to say any of that is a bad thing, they do it well, and that’s fine. But it’s the intense presence and undertones of vocalist Lauren Walker that steals the show from the rest of the band, and sets them apart from other local bands in the same genre. There is a slight awkwardness to her stance on stage, which will surely develop in time, but is also part of her charm in drawing us in and taking us on a whirl wind voyage through the harsh pounding waves of the open waters at sea.

Local purveyors of 60’s influenced garage rock The Young Liberals jump the stage with a Kinks-esque opener. This band features a stella local line up of members from Giants of Science, The Gin Club, and The Butcher Birds. They are the self-confessed “best band you’ll ever see”. It’s not new music to the ears, clear influences of The Stooges, The Kinks, Queens of the Stone Age and The Velvet Underground. Each song is like a brick through the window of the house that pop culture built, with titles like I’m so sick of indie music, which is dedicated to the band upstairs Sea Plane. A trilogy of songs about being in a shit band is the highlight of the set, We’re in a band, Your band sounds like how I feel…shithouse, and My neighbours band. The Young Liberals are obnoxious, full of attitude, and not radio friendly at all, which is what I like about them. After all, do you really wanna hear the latest reincarnation of KoL?

Mike Noga and the Gentlemen of Fortune are a five piece tonight, with the inclusion of Steve Nabu straight off the plane from Malibu sitting in on keys. The band fills the stage with an ease and comfortability that clearly comes from their collective experience. After a few initial issues with the vocal mix, Noga finds his place in the room that now is looking pretty full. Nothing sounds out of place or unexpected in the first few songs, until the bossa nova feel of the third track, which brings in a nice balmy summer nights feel for this BrisVegas crowd.

Noga talks casually with the audience between songs, letting us know he’d much rather be here than in Sydney, and that he really loves us all. Maybe Valentines Day brings out the romantic in even the hardest of rock muso’s. This is only the second time The Gentlemen of Fortune have played in Brisbane, which brings up the thought of why we haven’t seen them in our fine town more often? Well, unfortunately, compared to their current contemporaries The Gin Club, Texas Tea and The Drones, there’s something lacking in the songwriting. Maybe it’s the melodies, which don’t seem to be in the foreground of the music, leaving the listener searching for something to attach to. There is a moment of tenderness in the voice of Mike Noga as he sings through one of his acoustic ballads Turn Your Light On Me, which finds a connection with the audience. The Gentlemen turn it on for their last song of electrified country blues rock, leaving us all with the thought….encore?