Rocktoberfest @ RosemountHotel (4/10/09)

Wed 7th Oct, 2009 in Gig Reviews

A splendid line-up of stalwarts and students were enticingly presented for a Sunday evening at The Rosemount all in the name of throwing a few bucks towards the next big managers and promoters of the arts.

The Arts Management Student Organisation (AMSO) planned an unrivaled evening of entertainment for their fundraiser that aims to assist students in their 3rd year secondment outside the confines of WAAPA.

Split between the out and indoors Georgi Kay was first to perform on the raised grassy bank to those dispersed around the beer garden. With the re-arrangement of The Rosemount’s outdoor area the sweet vocals of this solo man on acoustic guitar made for great relaxed viewing.

Luke Dux took the volume up several notches despite the lack of accompaniment, with so much raw boisterous blues noise bellowing out of him. With Downtown Dave on harmonica the music performed alluded to imagery of railroads and destitution. Not of the supposed stature or colour to produce such sounds Dux confounds the average viewer while not even a broken string could halt his revelations.

Starting with only one member onstage Old Croak gave an opportunity for their singer to perform solo before others entered at the third song. With mod hair styles but otherwise relatively bland, the evening became a bit cooler.

Entering inside Hayley Beth’s delivery was rich in her own audible country blues voice. Without twang that would send most of the assembled running from the country genre, Beth, the picture of a little town country girl was hardly shy with her voice standing way back from the mic but delivering decibels. Few were inside to enjoy the gale free entertainment as ciggie drags became frequent.

Outside Ghost Hotel was off the mark with their unclear improvisation and all of 5 players 2 of whom were singers, they were unable to capitalise on their size. The City Watch better utilised their multi-instrumental line up with trumpet and violin adding to the dynamics inside however constant cymbal work made the music a clanging mess.

Wolves At The Door naturally breezed onto the outdoor stage and give an effortless example of two unique voices in harmony. Understated on the stage and with room to move a more intimate venue suits the pair.

Sean Pollard led Split Seconds through their strum happy set. The newest venture for Pollard, Split Seconds has taken vocal dynamics and used the voice as an instrument in a poptastic way. Tightly bound in free promotional sweat bands the lads enjoyed jovial banter between them and charismatically welcomed the audience.

Swooping inside The Chemist was truly a band to behold. All the Perth indie hype is well deserved for the music and performance live blew expectations. Rather than seeing the rock star poses and flashing lights as conceited the execution was imaginative and reeked of formative years spent frequenting blues venues and performance scrutinising.

Steve Parkin and his new nameless super group were a welcome sight in the beer garden twinkling in starlight. Soaring crescendos and smooth fresh vocals, even after a lifetime of performing were inspiring and uplifting.

The buildup of expectation leading to headliners was almost dashed as they casually entered from the bar, past the barrier of hardliners. Changing things up yet again it’s almost to be expected that tracks once recorded by End of Fashion may find themselves spoilt by too many changes when played live. Currently recording it was an outing that drew attention to the cause and efforts of AMSO whilst keeping the band fresh in the minds of Perth live music goers.

Congrats AMSO team and Miss Flores!