Wavves, Bleeding Knees Club @Corner Hotel, Melbourne(14/03/2011)

Wed 23rd Mar, 2011 in Gig Reviews

All ages gigs are fun. All ages gigs are even more fun when they’re not actually all ages and you don’t have to smuggle in goon, but you’re pretty sure at least half the crowd down the front have.

The opening band, with the precious name Bleeding Knees Club, seem to be barely legal, and not long out of playing all ages shows themselves. They’re from the Gold Coast, keeping in line with the beachy theme of the night. Getting decent Triple J rotation guarantees they’ll be a hit among, well anyone under 25, which makes up the majority of tonight’s punters. They’ve almost got all bases covered. Fast, brash, loose and fun. It’s not a bad thing that each song is forgotten by the next one, as the single Bad Guys does its job and gets the girls dancing.

What started as Nathan William’s solo bedroom project a few years ago, morphed into a blog band and has since gone through several line up changes. Noticeably, Billy Hayes, who drummed on the Wavves marvellous King of the Beach album, has been replaced by Jacob Cooper. The influence of Jay Reatard echoes throughout the album and the live show, which is fast and loose, like a good Goon of Fortune game. We don’t get to witness much slacker charm or Primavera-style meltdowns, as Williams doesn’t really talk to the crowd at all. Although, it is entertaining to watch a live projection of the band, that’s been washed through with psychedelic colours, on the screens at the side of the stage.

Only a few songs in and a guy is being escorted by security to the back of the room, only to re-emerge a few songs later to the best single off the album, King of the Beach, and rejoin the thrashing mosh. The songs that are played from the first two albums seem to be at the start of the set, and the lo-fi smoke-haze that drifted through the first album in particular, have been polished up and given slightly more structure.

A cover of a very early Black Flag song Nervous Breakdown was done very well and could easily have been on an earlier Wavves album. Rounding the set out toward the end with the slower pace of Green Eyes still wasn’t enough for this reviewer and the other encore hopefuls. Wavves certainly proved themselves to be more than just a hyped of-the-moment band, and a few more songs next time would be even more perfect.