Blood, Sweat and Beers @Annandale Hotel, Sydney(03/07/11)

Thu 7th Jul, 2011 in Gig Reviews

Easy Company are the kind of band that can be summed up in three words: “Woah-ohhh-ohhh.” Essentially, if you’ve ever done a mad kickflip while listening to Millencolin and rocked a wallet chain like it was going out of fashion, you’ve heard what Easy Company has to offer. That’s all well and good if you can add your own flavour and personality to it, but that’s sadly not something the four-piece are capable of. The Descendents hat and Propagandhi shirts say it all, and that’s never a good sign. Much better off were The Gun Runners, a triple-guitar attack of grizzly punk and hardcore of the non-tough-guy variety. Their set was filled with chiselled, smart tunes made all the more entertaining by their out-of-place third guitarist nailing a succession of sweet punk jumps at just the right times. Definitely an act worth investing into.

Loud, raw, throaty and bullshit-free – in a nutshell, that’s Adelaide’s Grenadiers for you. The no-nonsense power trio slammed through a set of rough-edged melodic punk with stomping rhythms and slicing overdrive guitar, taken mostly from their album Songs The Devil Taught Us. The pacing was breathless and the energy was practically enough to generate steam, certainly gaining the band a stack of new fans in their brief but thoroughly enjoyable time here at the Annandale. Although the band is a side dish for their guitarist/vocalist, the main course being Stolen Youth, this was a more than appetising set. If anything, they threatened to be the best act of the entire lot.

Are they psychobilly? Old-school punk? Ska? Just what the hell are the Casino Rumblers? And more to the point, who cares? Genre is meaningless when you’re having this much fun. In the centre is a mohawked double-bassist who can croon like Elvis and moan like Glenn Danzig; with a classic-rock guitar duo on one side and a downright bitchin’ horn section on the other. Their unique blend of styles was quickly captivating and had an attentive, boogying audience to go with it. That’s not even getting started on their cover of AC/DC’s Whole Lotta Rosie, which took out yet another spot on the day’s highlight reel. If you like your punk rock spooky and more than a little left of centre, these are your guys.

Celtic punks The Rumjacks are about as authentic as it gets. From the pure Irish accent of their frontman to the tin whistle he so tunefully blows upon, it’s difficult not to find yourself dutifully jigging along to the band’s blend of folk roots and raise whatever beverage you might have been swilling out of pure respect. The quintet play with wild, insurmountable spirit and passion, with the kind of all-in choruses that even have audience members running up on-stage to lead everyone in singing along. Even if you didn’t know the words, you picked it up in roughly ten seconds. Arguably the band that best summed up the Blood, Sweat and Beers attitude – raise your fecking glass.

While Grenadiers mentioned that they were the only Adelaide band on the bill, it was Former Cell Mates who could trump the band as being the only non-Australian band on the bill. The south English lads have a distinct rock pedigree but have no qualms in mixing it with lavishings of punk and a strong sense of melody, which already had a handful of fans spattered amongst the crowd singing along to every word. Even as the only international act, the trio didn’t attempt to put themselves on any kind of pedestal – if anything, they were doing their best to make sure they finished their set with a few new Australian friends. They needn’t have worried, however – they played a set that was nothing short of exceptional.

A fluffy purple pimp coat was thrown into the audience, a whole case of beer was shared with the front row and the thrower of said pimp coat preached about the dangers of marrying a fox queen. Bear in mind that all of these things happened before Gay Paris have even started playing and you get an idea of what kind of filthy rock & roll monsters these hirsute individuals are. Matching an undeniable stage presence with their wild-eyed, swampy style of rock, it didn’t take too long at all for the audience to lose their collective shit. More clothes were shed, more beer was sunk and plentiful high-fives were given. Could you really ask for anything more? The outlandish bluesmen were easily the oddest ones out on the bill, but if this thrilling escapade was anything to go by, they were also possibly the best.

Ever see those particularly passionate fans at punk shows that have their hands in the air, singing heartily along to every last lyric? A Death in the Family has those kind of fans in truckloads, and they’re out in full force as the final band of the weekend give a rousing set to demonstrate to those tragically unfamiliar just why they garner said fans. The Melbourne-based band are the type that never gives less than 110% every time they hit the stage, and their love for what they do isn’t exactly subtle. With each workman-like delivery of tracks spanning most of their discography comes more big sing-alongs, and with those sing-alongs comes yet another boost of energy on-stage. No matter how many times you’ve heard them, the band have this strange knack of making it feel as fresh and invigorating as the first time you heard it. Blood, Sweat & Beers probably couldn’t have picked a better finisher if they tried, topping of yet another solid weekend of music. If there was any case needed to be put forward for saving the Annandale, it’s this.