Tiger Army, The Disables,Zombie Ghost Train @ The Rev,09/03/05

Thu 10th Mar, 2005 in Gig Reviews

I like Tiger Army. I like them a lot. I just didn’t have any idea that so many people in Brisbane felt the same way!

I strolled into the Rev just in time for the beginning of Zombie Ghost Train’s set and had to content myself with watching the show practically squished against the door I had just entered. The place was chockers! And it was only 8.30!

Zombie Ghost Train’s brand of psychobilly/garage punk went down well with the eager crowd. They played with style and entertained with their mock-horror-themed songs and ghoulish faces (ghoulish only due to the face-paint, of course). These guys are very enjoyable to watch, with Stu Arkoff belting out the tunes, Aaron Mol slapping the bass wildly and Azza T thumping away crazily on the drums. Playing tracks off their EP Monster Formal Wear, as well as giving us a taste of things to come from imminent debut album Glad Rags & Body Bags, Zombie Ghost Train put on a great performance and finger’s crossed they’ll be back up this way again soon.

Next up were local lads The Disables. I must confess, it has been quite some time since I have seen this band play, and I can’t remember ever having seen them put on such a tight performance. They played a fan-freaking-tastic set comprised of equal parts energy and fury. I for one could not keep still. They incited fervent sing-a-longs with the better known tracks such as Lackey Country, and previewed their forthcoming album with songs Damned if you Do and Reason for the Treason, both of which sounded excellent.

Tiger Army were roared onstage and within seconds of the commencement of their set, the dance floor was overrun with a mass of people slamming into each other and throwing themselves around as though possessed. It was fucking crazy, and captivating to watch, in a “gee, I hope I don’t lose an eye” kind of way.

Stoked with the reception, Nick 13 said that the band had wanted to tour Australia for the last five years. And, boy, did they deliver. What ensued was a top-notch performance of electric, amazing psychobilly. Jeff Roffredo absolutely thrashed the shit out of his stand-up bass, while Nick 13 played some blistering guitar and James Meza furiously bashed his drums.

Playing a fantastic range of songs spanning their three albums to date, there was an abundance of pure mayhem, but also a couple of quieter moments. Two of the songs off the recent release III: Ghost Tigers Rise, entitled Through the Darkness and Rose of the Devil’s Garden, deviated from the psychobilly path and were two of the best songs in the set, full of melody with more than a touch of dark-wave and old school rock ‘n’ roll. Nick 13 can sing as well as he can yell, and the crowd loved it. There was a whole lot of dancing going on.

At one point, the band had to stop playing due to a scuffle developing on one side of the room, but other than that, the show was practically flawless from start to finish.

True Romance, When Night Comes Down, Never Die, Cupid’s Victim...all of these songs were kick-arse, but the icing on the cake was the splendid Jungle Cat, the chaotic Incorporeal and the furious F.T.W (or Fuck The World, as it is otherwise known).

There’s not much else to say except SEE THIS BAND if you get the chance. You’ll come out wanting to buy their badges, transfers, stickers, shirts, CDs…

Yes sir, last night I was recruited.