The rise of Sydney band Bluejuice has not been a quick and easy affair by any means. This dynamic group, which cites an – œaggressive mix of pop, rock, hip hop, electro and disco’ as genre influences, are also well known for their humour on and off the stage which makes them a stand out band in today’s industry. Receiving critical acclaim and perhaps surprisingly to some, two ARIA nominations for their latest offering Head Of The Hawk which features popular single Broken Leg, the boys from Bluejuice seem to finally be receiving their well deserved attention and praise.
The night kicked off with Melbourne indie group, The Motifs who despite the small crowd and a few technical problems, soldiered on with their set. Although their sound was overall enjoyable and easy to listen to, but the vibe from the crowd seemed to suggest that they were weirdly placed in the line up for the evening. They provided a stark contrast to the show that Bluejuice were bound to deliver later in the evening and the crowd had a little difficulty warming to them. Despite this, they provided an enjoyable set overall.
Sydney four piece The Jezabels were quick to impress with their dark and driving pop tunes with front woman Hayley Mary a force behind the microphone. Playing a variety of older songs alongside new material from their soon to be released EP She’s So Hard, it was immediately obvious as to why they were chosen as the support. Through songs such as Be A Star, Disco Biscuit Love and Hurt Me, the group displayed an obvious passion for the music they were creating and were genuinely enjoying themselves. As were the Bluejuice boys who appeared side of stage, singing along to some of the tracks which appeared later in the Jezabels set list. The Jezabels captivated the crowd with their emotive tracks and set the atmosphere perfectly for the highly anticipated main act.
As the curtains opened and Bluejuice ascended onto the stage launching into album opener and title track Head Of The Hawk, it was obvious the audience would fall under their command for the duration of the show. A packed Corner Hotel had now seemed to push its way as close to the stage as possible and despite a barrier separating the audience from the band, the energy in the venue did not seem to diminish in any way. Powering into crowd favourite Ms Johnston, front men Jake Stone and Stav Yiannoukas could do nothing but smile as the crowd smiled, clapped, jumped around and sang along to every word. Backed by other members Jamie Cibej on bass, Jerry Craib on keys and James Hauptmann on drums, the band were never out of sync with one another despite the often spontaneous nature of the show.
Ranging from tracks from their first album to the more recent tracks, Bluejuice powered into Phantom Boogie, one for the older fans, before performing We Can Get Around It, yet another crowd favourite and a slower song by Bluejuice standards. They once again got the crowd jumping around while Jake’s powerful vocals were evident in Little Emperor and arrived what was to be the highlight for a lot of the crowd, Broken Leg. Triple J personality and Frenzal Rhomb member Lindsay McDougall, also known as – œThe Doctor’, provided extra guitar to a few of the songs and together with the rest of the band, ultimately gave the songs a new level of energy many thought was impossible to reach considering the benchmark already established.
Launching into incredibly infectious sing along track Work, the boys kept the crowd entertained with their on stage antics with Jake launching himself into the crowd. There were also cheeky incidents involving kissing both the security guard and a photographer, but we’ll leave it at that. Get It Right, a track from their debut album was once again contrasted with a newer song, (Ain’t) Telling The Truth, showing the diversity of their albums along with their talent of such a varied style as a band. Hunnamunnafeeb showed the crowd at its most involved, demanding participation which the crowd were more than happy to return.
It was when Stav commented on seeing the people in the front rows – œsinging along to every word’; it was obvious their success as a band had reached somewhat of a pinnacle. In a show of appreciation, the boys constantly interacted with the crowd throughout the show, which meant everything from holding the microphone out for the crowd to sing along, to crowd surfing. Despite some audience members shouting out for their – œbetter known hits’, the boys clearly appreciated those who embraced both the new and old material, even playing excellent sounding new songs, You Haven’t Changed, Under The Gun and Keep It To Yourself, for the crowd. The new songs captured the crowd just as much as the known material, showing a capability of Bluejuice as a band to produce great music and a diverse set list, which completely immersed the crowd in the evening.
More rock based tracks, Devil and Medication displayed the entertaining Jake’s theatrics and set the atmosphere and mood up perfectly for what is always a highlight of a Bluejuice show, hit single, Vitriol. Despite the barrier which prevented the crowd from storming the stage as is the normal occurrence whenever Bluejuice play the track, the crowd still put as much energy into the song as usual, with Jake and Stav descending into the crowd, in order to have the song and the performance reach its full potential. Final songs Facelift and The Reductionist ended an incredibly high energy and powerful performance that left the crowd shouting for more despite the boys clearing stating they did not have an encore. And due respect to them for that decision, considering the encore has just become an expected aspect of a set list rather than a spontaneous bonus.
With their obvious musical talent and clever use of the music videos, Bluejuice are a band that deserves all the credit they receive. Their live performances that consistently leave the crowd begging for more, alongside the energy that is continually obvious throughout the entire set mean that Bluejuice are a band who will never disappoint and continue to produce quality music. But hey, Bluejuice are a band that never settle for complacency and judging by The Reductionist flim clip, the sky might just be too easy for them to reach.
to listen to their music now on 
