Eagle and the Worm, TheFrowning Clouds, HancockBasement @ UC Refectory,Canberra (3/2/11)

Sat 5th Feb, 2011 in Gig Reviews

The University Of Canberra’s annual orientation week (O-Week) celebrations were in full swing, welcoming new students with pamphlets, campus information, food and an unholy amount of free pens. Among the festivities was the afternoon O Yeah! concert bringing together three upcoming Australian bands, two from Melbourne, Eagle and the Worm and The Frowning Clouds and a group of local rockers, Hancock Basement.

Bad weather early on during the day forced the bands into The Refectory inside the UC campus, luckily this was still a great setting to watch some fantastic live music. O-Week organisers would’ve been disappointed with the small numbers on the day, especially considering the amount of tables and stalls set up, but the undersized crowd managed to find its way into the hall as soon as the twangs and plunks of the sound check could be heard from outside.

Most students seemed to be inside for the free food on offer, but the line of hungry punters were more than happy to watch local band, Hancock Basement play over their meals. Hancock played through a strong set of energetic, catchy pop songs complete with fast paced guitars, heavy keyboards and plenty of yelps from the lead vocalist. All this despite the now downsized crowd. Hancock Basement writes infectious pop songs, short sharp ones at that and they were on full display, immediately resonating with the audience. The band saved their best till last, burning through the loudest, most ear pleasing song to finish off their buzzing set. Unfortunately only around 50 people stayed behind to hear the excellent finish.

The second band looked half the age of their predecessors but nevertheless kept the energy up, again, despite the lack of audience support (the crowd had now dwindled to around 30). As The Frowning Clouds shuffled on stage and muddled around with their instruments, the very serious ‘rocker’ looks on the band member’s faces (aside from the strikingly happy bass guitarist), suggested the band didn’t want to be there, but then again, that is rock ‘n’ roll and besides, nobody could blame them with the unexpected and quite underwhelming crowd. Despite their attitude, The Frowning Clouds showcased their jangly, garage sound along with a tambourine, ohh ahh choruses, 60s guitars and vocals with an overall lack of shoes. Watching the band on stage, their true rock persona became clear. The entire band was dressed in black, skin-tight jeans and all bar one member was barefoot. The lead guitarist and vocalist even sported thick, Beatles mop tops. By the end of their set, The Frowning Clouds were really only performing to around 10 diehards, this on top of other students simply chatting away to their friends or keeping to themselves with a book or laptop.

Finally, Eagle and the Worm came on and truly proved their worth and status as the headlining band. Fresh from performing at the Falls Festival, the band must have caused some buzz around the campus because no sooner than The Frowning Clouds had finished their set, the crowd began to pick up until there were 50 strong in the room. After a lengthy sound check, the band casually slid into gear, cracking jokes and sipping beer, all before a note was even played. They soon got into their bluesy, at times triumphant soft rock complete with passionate vocals and cascading drums. The band showed true charisma and an unhingeable energy throughout their performance, pumping out their songs with real character and a strong stage presence. Eagle and the Worm truly enjoyed themselves up there, playing energetic music to counteract the dull weather and for the first time that day, making everyone feel like dancing and singing (at a gig, fancy that!). Between each song, they cheerfully spoke to the ever-growing audience with tour anecdotes, jokes and even the odd political reference, which would have surely resonated well with the students.

All three bands seemed to have a blast playing their sets, and all three deserved much more appreciation, yet when there’s rain at a planned outdoor concert, there’s nothing you can really do but keep on playing.