Mink Jaguar. It has been a while since I had the pleasure of seeing this band in action. How many musical influences can you roll into one band? Plenty, and that’s exactly what they do best!  ‘50’s rock ‘n’ roll, ‘60’s garage stomp and bastardised cow punk. I can honestly say that there is no band in Sydney that sounds like Mink Jaguar. 

The beat is very up tempo, and the drumming is hectic and energetic. This three piece really pump out the songs with very little down time in between. The bass player is nice and solid, holding together all the interesting dimensions, while the singer/guitarist is as busy as humanly possibility, mainly due to the pace of the songs being unrelenting. 

Visually, the frantic energy is coming from the back of the stage and it’s for this reason that I find my eyes being drawn towards the drummer. Joel hits those skins at a hundred beats per minute, leaving no opportunity to do anything but look on in amazement. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Mink Jaguar really needs a Lux Interior or a Gentle Ben to concentrate on vocal duties. Just a new kick Mink Jaguar need to really make people shut up and take notice. The crowd seemed to enjoy it, including participants at Ray Ahn’s 40th birthday party.  Hell, I’m sure that even Rob Younger wished he looked as youthful as Ray!  Whatever the secret potion is, by jeez it’s working a treat!

The temperatures rising!  While waiting for the Booby Traps to hit the stage, I decided to sip a few cold beers in preparation for the Hoey to really start hotting up. The Booby Traps would have to be the hardest working garage band currently playing the Sydney circuit. 

I’m a lover of ‘60’s garage and rock’n’roll, so I go to a lot of gigs and this band play many of the shows I attend. I’m not complaining! I think the Booby Traps are fantastic at what they do!  The question is how hard is it for the members to come up with matching, original outfits for every gig they play? I still haven’t witnessed any of the girls wear the same outfits twice! That’s some dedication and a very large wardrobe! 

Tonight the theme was black and the band played one very slick set indeed. The guitar had that warm fuzz, while the vocal melodies were sweet, yet menacing when they needed to be. The bass rumbled and the drummer belted out some amazing drum beats, empathised by the best drummer faces I’ve seen for quite a while! The crowd showed their appreciation between each song, clapping and cheering at every opportunity. While the Booby Traps offered no surprises in their selection of songs, they did however prove that they still had a trick or two up their sleeve.

By the end of the Booby Traps set, I glanced around the room and the Hoey was filling up. This was going to be interesting. A tiny room isn’t the most ideal setting for a loud, rock’n’roll band, and The Specimens are certainly in that category. Were my ears going to bleed? Will they be able to turn up their amps? Their music needs to be LOUD and a guitar amp on one just isn’t going to cut it. 

As The Specimens launched into their first song, I smiled in the knowledge that the sound was to my liking. Adam really is the hyperactive bass player that most bands wish they had. He just doesn’t stop rocking for one second! Where does he find the energy? Does he need medication? Complimenting him perfectly on the left hand side of the stage is Tim on lead guitar. He looks like he’s having a rock’n’roll meltdown, full of guitar licks and teenage kicks. Terry is the multi-tasking member of the band, also playing guitar as he belts out lyrics to songs from both releases. He battled with some technical difficulties, but soldiered on regardless.  Again, the drummers tonight really need to win some awards and Brent is no exception.  He really has a classic feel to what he’s playing and makes drumming look way too easy. The pace was great and the set rocked along nicely, building up to a guitar being thrown to the ground at the end of the last song.  The band marched off stage, looking like spent soldiers in need of some rest and recreation. It took the crowd a while to convince them, but the boys picked up their weapons of choice and belted out one more song as a thank you. When this band is on fire, it truly is a site to behold.
 
I really enjoyed their set tonight, but I know that these guys can deliver something bigger and better.  In the right location, the band are natural born killers and personally, I don’t think the Hoey does many bands justice.  Put The Specimens in a venue like the Annandale, and I guarantee the experience would be one that you’d be crazy to miss.