The Drones @ Mojo's, Fremantle(21/10/11)

Wed 26th Oct, 2011 in Gig Reviews

The Drones are back, and judging by both the cramming of tonight’s venue and the blistering reception at this first stop on their Thousand Mistakes live DVD tour, there’s been no tail-off in appetite for the band’s raw, sometimes-melodic-rock.
Though Mojos was crowded, this set felt like a personal concert in the intimacy of a living room.

Onstage amidst a wave of protestations of love, was the ever-beautiful Adalita. Her haunting voice is perfect for the space of Mojo’s; piercing and mysterious. The use of a loop pedal and a floor tom supported her on stage. Tracks such as Hot Air and Fool Around lived up to all expectations, followed by Taxi – a song named after a club full of transvestites she quipped, but gems like The Repairer gained a new, mesmerising dimension live and effortlessly exhaled by Adalita to finish a well received set.

The Drones are masters of cracked melodies and lacerated story-telling, and this set followed the tradition. They oozed a quiet confidence, earned through nearly thirteen years performing together. Gareth Liddiard bantered with the audience “We used to be here back in the day (Freo) when we were hippies with dreadlocks down to our arses… not!”

Opening with the beauty The Drifting House Wife, the layered chords almost trip over themselves as a chiming guitar picks out an infectious melody belying the emotion in front man Liddiard’s tortured verse. The eager strut of I’m Here Now, was soon balanced by the charmingly insouciant Jezebel.

The set-list was near perfect too, which is nigh on an impossible feat due to the number of quality songs the band posesses; it must be a task to please all ears. One notable absence was Shark Finn Blues a popular song the lack of which disappointed some of the crowd. It was soon forgiven however, as Fiona Kitschin enraptured the audience with the distinctive bass-line from The Minotaur- A standout track from their 2008 record Havilah.

After a few more numbers and a dedication for “That fuckwit Ned Kelly”, the inspiration for the song Luck in Odd Numbers, after which Liddiard apologised to all the bogans present, making the crowd laugh. An encore of Oh Sister finished the set.

It’s easy to imagine that The Drones will always have a willing audience waiting for them wherever they play, whatever the hour.