The Checks, The Demon Parade,Johnny Rock and The Limits @Ding Dong Lounge, Melbourne(03/09/2010)

Mon 6th Sep, 2010 in Gig Reviews

Amidst the bustle of China Town one can find the dimly lit Ding Dong lounge, whose doors are closely guarded by heavily bearded, leather clad bouncers who usher you up a flight of stairs and into a room filled with dingy booths, classic film posters and a stage sporting a very 80s gold curtained backdrop. It was here that a small group of family members and a couple of newly recruited groupies gathered to see the first supporting band of The Checks’ national tour, The Villain’s Lair.

Despite the meagre assemblage, The Villain’s Lair kicked off with full enthusiasm and the occasional sarcastic quip (“this next song’s called I Wanna Be Alone – I pretty much am alone”). The fresh-faced Melburnians provided a more than adequate start to a night of very competent and enjoyable entertainment.

The night surged onwards and as the gathering crowd grabbed another round of beers, Fathoms took the stage. These boys are a highly talented bunch of musicians, though the heavily distorted screamer genre admittedly leaves little room for any particularly unique qualities to shine through. Sadly, the lack of crowd interaction led to the feeling that we were simply voyeurs, privy to a band rehearsal, but the performance was well polished and they certainly have good command of their instruments.

Johnny Rock and The Limits continued the trend of the evening as, once again, we were presented with a really tight, really professional bunch of musicians fronted by the powerful vocals of Johnny himself. Clearly veterans of the stage, they had excellent stage presence and were obviously thoroughly enjoying themselves.

On stepped The Demon Parade and, while the appearance of three guitars onstage was somewhat overwhelming, the band managed to take the evening up a notch with their euphoric sound. They effortlessly worked the crowd and managed to pull off a truly rock’n’roll style set finale, with stray guitar straps and up-turned mic stands littering the stage upon their exit.

Despite the excellent entrée of Melbourne talent, the evening truly peaked with the headline act. New Zealand band The Checks took command of the stage, coaxing the crowd with a rolling drum beat and gradually introducing the various instruments of the band whilst front-man Edward Knowles engaged the audience with an all-knowing stare.

The bricks and mortar of the band, Jacob Moore (drums) and Karel Chabera Jr. (bass) provided a solid rhythm section and guitarist Callum Martin pumped out some excellent backing harmonies. Lead guitarist Sven Pettersen, although reserved and well collected throughout the performance, wasn’t to be overlooked either; showing that what is held back in onstage antics can be said just as well through excellent playing.

One cannot surpass the eccentric on-stage persona that defines a good front man and it was this that gave The Checks that extra edge. Knowles paraded and bounced across the stage one minute and stood proudly like a cocky bantam the next. The rapport with the audience was excellent and the spontaneity of joining the mosh whilst singing or encouraging the lights to be turned out for a whole song gave the gig its inimitable stamp in what is sure to be an excellent tour for The Checks. Despite finishing with Get Off The Stage, that was comfortably the last thing we wanted them to do.