Pulled Apart By Horses,Zeahorse, Dark Bells @ TheAnnandale Hotel, Sydney(10/3/11)

Mon 14th Mar, 2011 in Gig Reviews

There is no line at the Annandale Hotel when doors open at 8pm and the lounges and stools across the floor suggest a quiet night of drinks rather than the tumultuous night of rock and roll the few early arrivals are expecting.

When Sydney trio Dark Bells take the stage at 8:45, the room is still mostly empty, but they didn’t seem too fazed as they launched into their set. The first track they play is a psychedelic drone with wailing vocals that doesn’t garner much attention but their second song accelerates with a driving bass line earning some head nods and tapping feet from the slowly growing audience. They seemed to be going for a nonchalant cool with their reserved stage presence but for the most part it came across as apathy, despite the occasional genuine sounding thanks between songs. The potential for Dark Bells to be a great live band is there, when they hit their stride they are tight and concise, belting out dark garage rock, but when they missed the songs fell into noisy dross. I hope I see them in the future and they have tightened up their act.

Sydney band, Zeahorse, were called upon when initial support Regular John canceled weeks earlier and it’s clear why they were chosen as they launch into series dissonant, heavy riffs. You couldn’t fault their energy as they pummeled their instruments although an overuse on reverb on the vocals was an immediate distraction, washing out the sound on stage. Urgency was their friend, whether it was a cracking stoner rock riff or jangly guitar and bass interplay, they remained fun to watch until they began to drag songs out for what seemed like minutes too long. Their excessive jamming got the better of them and the energy they brought at the start of the set was gone and many punters began revert to the lounges at the back to talk amongst themselves. Zeahorse finish their set with the big riffs and energy they started with, but the crowd’s mood had changed over 45 minutes and they seemed to have to have overstayed their welcome well before their last riff.

The Annandale is barely half full when the lights dim and four ordinary looking lads from Leeds jump on stage for the very first time in Australia. Pulled Apart By Horses are notorious for their wild live shows and punters only get as close to the stage as they dare. This proves a smart move as front man Tom Hudson leaps into the crowd with his guitar, knocking over a girl and sending beer everywhere, during opener The Crapsons.

The sound was surprisingly clear despite the punishing levels of the instruments and Hudsons voice sounded like it was going to tear to shreds as they thundered through singles Back To The Fuck Yeah and Yeah Buddy. There seems to be no rhyme or reason to their performance, they react individually to how the music makes them move, resulting in joyous chaos. Instruments are beat over heads and guitars are thrown about their bodies with abandon, but every time you think they are going to flip off the rails they manage to stay grounded by drummer Lee Vincent’s tight playing.

The madness is escalated when Hudson dives through the audience, sans guitar, and climbs up onto the bar top for hardcore barnstormer I’ve Got Guest List To Rory O’Hara’s Suicide. Band mates James Brown and Robert John Lee take advantage the extra space on stage and throw themselves about like bananas in a tropical cyclone.

The band called for the audience to come closer and at risk of their own safety they piled up front creating a great vibe making it hard to notice the emptiness at the back of the venue. The underwhelming turnout didn’t seem to be affecting the band at all as the giddy banter between themselves and the audience showed four young men who seemed beside themselves about playing this far from their home turf.

Outside of their first album, PABH treated Sydney to two new tracks, V.E.N.O.M and Give Me A Reason. The new songs didn’t sound too different from the material from their debut, showing signs that their sophomore record should capture the same energy as their first. The floor is a warzone both on stage and on the floor, with fans standing on each other to get out of the way of flying plastic cups and rogue band members or pushing past each other to get in the think of the action. By the time the penultimate track, I Punched a Lion in the Throat, is played it’s hard to believe anyone in the room is still standing.

With a sincere thanks to their first Australian crowd, PABH explode into their last song of the night, Den Horn. Hudson and Brown spent most of the song playing from the floor and hugging sweaty fans before leaving the room in a sea of feedback. The Annandale is quickly emptied, as is the merch table and stunned punters leave with stories of an intense band with an unpredictable live show that will surely bring back even more people the next time Pulled Apart By Horses visit our shores.