Day of the Dead @ The Bird,Perth 24/03/11

Sat 26th Mar, 2011 in Gig Reviews

A light flashes and a thunderous noise is heard. All of the sudden the DeLorean shoots down the street, screeching to a halt as it reaches you and Doc Brown calls you from the window to come with him. For just ten dollars you can go back to a time when Clint Eastwood was The Good, The Bad and The Ugly and go-go boots were king, do you take the ride?

The LuckAmour.com launch party was a celebration of all things retro. Hosted by the Day of the Dead front man Ben Frichot to celebrate the launching of his new graphic art website. The night held musical performances from Luke Dux of The Floors and The Badpiper as well as a mesmerising burlesque performance The Devil in Miss Ashlee
Held at The Bird in Northbridge, a compact venue that specialises in intimate gigs with smaller audiences, it set the vibe that the launch party was a night for close friends, family and fans. Candles and small aerial lights illuminated the warm, chocolate-coloured furnishings to create a mysterious and alluring atmosphere in the small bar. Adding a mysticism to the acts of the night.

Anyone familiar with any concept of the Perth music scene has probably at least heard of the blues rocking trio The Floors before. Front man Luke Dux took a break from the band to deliver a more stripped-back, traditional, blues set, admitting, “I don’t usually play solo but I’m going to give it a shot.” With his long, gruff hair and low-key stage entrance it’s not entirely improbable that a couple of punters mistook him for a soundman. These preconceptions would be quickly banished as Dux launched in to a set of heart wrenching Delta blues complete with slide guitar circa 1930s-40s. The emotion was there, the technical ability was there, the crowd was elsewhere. While there was undeniably a strong element of support for Dux, as is all too often the case with opening acts the crowd was simply not ready to give him the credit he deserved. Covering a few old time favourites such as Nina Simone and Lewis Armstrong, Dux belted out songs with a power and heart wrenching sincerity that can only come from a true blues man. By the end of his set he had the audience in whoops and cheers.

In utter polarisation of Dux’s modest, stripped-back approach to performing, the punk-rock stylings of The Badpiper followed. With a brightly coloured mohawk, leather kilt and more chains, studs, and more tattoos than you know what to do with, Cam Mcazie aka The Badpiper was an instant crowd-shocker. The visual stimulation didn’t stop at tattoos and leather however; every Badpiper should of course come equipped with a black set of bagpipes and their own pyrotechnic display. While playing his energetic (shall we call it scot-punk?) songs, billows of flames would leap from the tips of his bagpipes to the amazement of audience members and no doubt to the incessant fretting of the bar staff. Interacting with the audience in a light-hearted and genuine manner, he was an instant crowd favourite.

Headliners, Day of the Dead were next out, striking a pleasant medium between the showiness of The Badpiper and the modesty of Luke Dux. Playing a consistently solid set that included a whole lot of bass twirling and a Tarintino-esque song called Shadowland, the band played their set to a crowd of quite animated and inebriated punters. While it was undeniably of a high calibre there seemed something lacking that had not quite hit the grand finale that was to be expected from the night. Then Day of the Dead pulled out their ace card.

As the final song was about to be played, Frichot announced the long anticipated arrival of the final act of the night, The Devil in Miss Ashlee. An extremely talented burlesque performer that just so happens to be the fiancé of The Badpiper himself. Miss Ashlee strutted on stage in a black corset and peacock feathers to the hooting of both male and female punters. Her sensual and seductive dancing backed by Day of the Dead created a climax to the night few could have anticipated.