Joey Cape & Tony Sly @Fowler's Live, Adelaide(20/05/10)

Fri 21st May, 2010 in Gig Reviews

CHECK OUT ALL THE PHOTOS HERE.

Joey Cape and Tony Sly, two of punk rocks leading front men, armed with nothing but acoustic guitars and a maraca? Im pretty sure its the first time either of the have been down under in a solo capacity, so I dont think many of the punters knew what to expect, but without an electric guitar in sight it was going to be a very different punk show experience.

Jamie Hay opened the show, with a short mellow acoustic set, to about 20 or so punters. I felt a little sorry for him performing to such a small crowd, but it really didn’t get much bigger for the main set.

Joey and Tony casually entered the venue through the front door and pretty much walked straight on stage. Pretty disappointing crowd particularly when you think about the crowds Lagwagon and NUFAN got last time they were here, but not overly surprising considering the musical tastes of their fans. Although only a small crowd it soon became apparent we were in for something unique. The intimate setting encouraged great crowd participation and interaction and the front men responded with plenty of banter and answering a number of song requests.

The singers played side by side and offered backing guitar and vocals for one another as required. Joining them on stage was Brian B-Wall who provided backing keyboard as well as a range of interesting sound effects. Joey lead off answering the request for Alien 8, bringing back memories of Lagwagons live in a dive recording (Hi I cant believe you guys all came to hear me do my acoustic set, thats amazing, you must really like me a lot… etc), then Tony fired off with Savior, then back to Joey, then back to Tony, you get the picture.

Whilst both singers were plugging new solo records and played a number of tracks off them the biggest crowd responses were for the Lagwagon and NUFAN covers. Highlights included Dumb Reminders, May 16, Justified Black Eye and Errands to name a few. Although both singers were open to requests they did stop the show and tell the crowd to stop requesting Feeding the Fire and Beer Goggles as they either dont like the song or it doesnt lend itself to be played acoustically, although after a persistent do it chant they had a go and proved that they didnt work. Further illustrating their point that not all songs can be done acoustically they went into a hilariously slow rendition of Slayers Reign in Blood.

2 hours went by in what felt like 15 minutes, such was the entertainment. Towards the end the boys pulled out their big guns with the likes of Razorburn, Violins, On the Outside, Wind in Your Sail and International You Day all getting a gig. The show was rounded out with, I guess to keep it even, NOFXs Linoleum which bought the house down. Although not the typical punk energy you get when seeing Sly or Cape in action the casual atmosphere and interaction tonight was something you don’t usually get at a show and I think most punters really appreciated it.

CHECK OUT ALL THE PHOTOS HERE.