HorrorPops, Firebird, DarkShadows @ the Factory Theatre,Sydney (24/04/2011)

Tue 26th Apr, 2011 in Gig Reviews

The Dark Shadows are three of the sweetest women playing the sweetest rock’n’roll I have ever heard. The Shadows take Gene Vincent era rock, amp it up with seventies Damned style energy, then ignore the hardcore and grindcore and pop-punk that came afterwards to create a twenty first century version of rock. There are hints of the past in the Dark Shadows, but they are the sound of now. They also have the most amazing bass lines.

Firebird are not of the now. They are firmly entrenched in the past, mixing up rockabilly and its overlapping genres, completely oblivious that the world of music has moved on. They look slick and sound slick, with the singer growling through songs to give the band a rough edge. They try hard to impress, but I quickly lose interest.

The HorrorPops, from Denmark via the USA, are long overdue in Australia to promote their third album, Kiss Kiss Kill Kill. They take the heart of rockabilly and interlace it with punk and pop to create a warped hybrid. The audience tonight reflects this crosspollination as rockabillies and rockafillies mix with punks, goths, a woman dressed like Wonder Woman, a man with a red tsunami on his head, and other subcultures with a sense of fashion.

The stylish crowd make an almighty din when the HorrorPops appear. The noise is partly due to excitement and partly in response to guitarist Kim Nekroman playfully comparing the Sydney audience to Perth. Drummer Niedermeier entertains himself by seeing how far he could spit while Patricia Day, double bass and vocals, starts to banter with the crowd and asks for Jagermeister shots. This is a line of conversation she continues for the rest of the night. It seems rude for a band, who is paid to be there and probably have access to free alcohol, to ask the crowd to buy them drinks. That didn’t matter to the crowd who lapped up the attention.

Late in the set, Firebird guitarist Pete Belair, a former member of the Nekromantix, was invited on stage. Patricia took a short breather while Kim, the Nekromantix main man, swapped to bass and the crowd were treated to a Nekromantix song. It was an exciting variation, for some.

The HorrorPops are not as exciting live as they are on record. Outside the magic of the studio, their sound is pure rockabilly and their songs showed little variation or innovation from each other, or those of a thousand other bands. The HorrorPops are certainly no Pretenders or Cramps, but what can you expect from a band whose sound revolves around the double bass and the semi-acoustic guitar. With that arrangement you are either going to play rockabilly or bluegrass. I seemed to be in the minority with my dissatisfaction, as the growing cheers from the crowd were at odds with my disappointment.