Live vicariously through Stu907’s Gallery

Looking a lot like the Abba of indie rock-minus the dual female element- were Newcastle lads, The Protectors. You could probably sum up their sound as a dirtier, noisier Franz Ferdinand. Not too sure what they sound like recorded but live-whether it was the mix or not-the quartet was very cluttered. The crowd were very receptive tho, and they seemed like a reasonable warm up to the notorious head liner.

After a few false crowd cheers, a sickeningly familiar disco pop song blared through the venue. A few lines into the infectious “can’t get you outta my head” by our very own pop diva Kylie, Jesse “The Devil” Hughes emerged on stage to dance, sign autographs and shake hands. Normally this sort of activity is saved for after the show, so it was refreshing to see a front man in touch with, or willing to touch, his fans.

The rest of the band emerged, Hughes slicked back his hair, donned aviator sunglasses and unloaded on the masses with I Only Want You and Don’t speak ( I came to bang). These two songs alone made the opening band insignificant and they were quickly forgotten by the convulsing crowd.

It was a classic display of filthy, raging, rock and roll. Hughes displayed his devil-possessed rock moves and praised the gods of rock like a power hungry preacher: “The doctor told me seven hours ago that there was no way in hell I’d be singing tonight, I believe the powers of rock and roll have healed me! Can you give me an amen!!” The crowd erupted.

Long time fans ate up every second as Hughes and crew treated them to a vast array of addictive cuts, with Bad Dream Mama, Already Died and Stuck in the Metal making appearances. All of the tracks rocked fifty times harder live, compared to their recordings. This could be due to the addition of drummer Joe Castillo who pounded the hell out of his kit and had fans wondering: Josh WHO?

The inevitable encore was just as sweet if not sweeter than the blistering setlist. Hughes emerged alone after much chanting to serenade the crowd with High voltage rock and roll, fan requested Midnight creeper, their own High Voltage and Cherry Cola.

A beautiful moment of man, guitar and adoring fans lapping up every second. He was eventually accompanied by band halfway
through Stones’ classic Brown Sugar. The vibe was so god-damn electric you could’ve bottled and sold that sucker on ebay.
Fans left satisfied and content that the Eagles came, saw and destroyed Metro’s Freo.

The bottom line is, if you missed it, you missed out.

Live vicariously through Stu907’s Gallery