The Corner Hotel was the place to be on Sunday night as a celebration of rock music took place in order to aid those affected by Victoria’s bushfires. Raising money with music seemed to be the order of the day, with multiple events happening in venues across town, but with the likes of Rocket Science, X and The Basics on the bill, the Corner was certainly a top choice.
Hot Little Hands had the pleasure of opening the main stage for the night with their quirky tunes. Unfortunately, there were no crazy hats for this set, but at least the small scattering of earlycomers were treated to some funky sounds. The likes of Dynamite in Black and White, the group’s next single, were filled with toe tapping whistling and the like – enough to get some early smiles.
Turning around to the smaller side stage, The Basics took to their instruments for the first time live in three months. Their short timeslot was a return to form following their shambles of a set at the East Brunswick Club last year, and the trio’s harmonies soared over a collection of new material including With This Ship, Like A Brother and Money. The Basics also seemed to have the most enthused audience of the night; though having them early to attract more punters to the Corner didn’t exactly fill the venue. Still, it’s great to have them back and sounding good.
In their second benefit gig in as many weeks, The Pictures were next on the main stage. They quickly set the theme that would continue for the rest of the night – straight up, guitar heavy rock. You Am I guitarist Davey Lane co-fronts this project and the Pictures pair, along with their extra drummer and guitarist don’t stray to far from that familiar Aussie rock sound. Running about stage and having fun was the order of hour, though, and Pissin’ With The Catman was a surefire burst of excitement.
The “special guest” for the night took to the main stage next – Victorian veteran rockers, X. Their recent return to the live scene has been going down a treat, with the band having supported The Saints with a Don’t Look Back performance at the Forum. They certainly seemed at home in the Corner Hotel and jammed through punk favourites like Lipstick On Your Dipstick and The Feel, with Steve Lucas quipping, ‘I hope you all cop one later’. Lucas also had to let the audience know that, “they weren’t done yet,” about halfway through the set, but it turned out the ‘impatient punter’ was actually just Cathy Green’s child side of stage. Bassist Kim Volkman still played like a rocker in his prime and Lucas still has his brilliant screech – yes, X were quite a lot of fun.
From the older to the younger rock stars, The Casanovas crammed in a nice string of their own heavy numbers including Born to Run and Heartbreaker on the side stage. The Melbourne trio showed off their take of the style that was running hot in the Corner in a sweaty, energetic fashion – obviously not wanting to be upstaged by Volkman playing before them.
Next up, MC Julia Zemiro was giving Even one of the oddest introductions you could think of – calling to the stage the three men she’d most like to recieve a sperm donated from… Ashley Naylor graciously accepted the strange intro before leading his band into their own short segment. With 15 years of tracks under their belts, a half hour hardly seemed enough, but their list managed to deliver numbers like I Walk Home, Black Umbrella, The Beat Parade and Rock and Roll Save My Life. With Kram pulling out of the benefit gig, Even were certainly a welcome replacement.
Dave Larkin was happy and ready to show off his fresh tracks with his new trio The Gun Street Girls – a trio of boys Zemiro was also happy to have sperm from (it’s alright, she admits she’s desperate). With a sound somewhat heavier, yet still familiar to Dallas Crane, Larkin and co. gave a sweaty performance of, you guessed it, rock and roll, with Larkin doing his best to contest Steve Lucas’ awesome scream.
Speaking of sweat, though, Rocket Science main man, Roman Tucker, wasn’t ceasing until the stuff was pooling on the floor. It seemed that Tucker was trying to outdo everyone that had preceded his band as far as energy was concerned – ramming his keys with might, dancing his very odd moves whenever he had the chance and even taking an opportunity to jump onto the Corner floor to jump about. Being Followed seemed a little underpowered, but the brilliance of the theremin sure made up for that, with Tucker shaking his hand around it like some sort of mad scientist – he certainly has that look about him.
Celebrating music to help those in dire need is a great way to raise much needed cash and boost awareness. $10,000 dollars raised was a great effort – so well done to the bands, the Corner and all those involved in putting on a great night. Now let’s all get ready for the MCG…
to listen to their music now on 
