The Vasco Era and Papa VsPretty @ The Rosemount Hotel(11/11/11)

Fri 18th Nov, 2011 in Gig Reviews

On Friday night, an eclectic crowd made their way to the Rosemount Hotel to see a double feature: Papa Vs Pretty and The Vasco Era. Supported by The Love Junkies, the two headliners promoted their new albums, whilst remaining true to their fans and played some old favourites.
The Love Junkies opened the night with some inoffensive punk-alternative rock. Some problems with sound mixing often meant that usually impressive vocals were lost within the wall of sound that the band created, however this was rectified halfway through. What started as a fairly heavy set became more accessible throughout the night; this was evident in the devoted fans dancing over the mismatched carpet. The short set contained an interesting mixture of screaming, slide guitar, softer songs and dancing tunes. The band was able to cram in a lot into their 30 minutes and effectively warmed up the stage for the double-headliners.

Next to the floor was Sydney’s Papa Vs Pretty. The first song was met with little response by the audience, mainly because people were scrambling to find a barstool to sit on or a place to stand. One of the Animals was a big hit, with punchy drums and intricate guitar solos. Excellent sound mixing was present throughout the performance, despite a tiny bit of distortion from high volume halfway. Lighting was simple, but effective in creating rhythm to accompany the band.

Heavy Harm went down well, with more of a mellow feel than some other songs. The triple-J favourite provided some good harmonies and a touch of delicacy. However, it almost fell on deaf ears; the crowd wanted the heavier stuff.

The band are tight, exhibiting a high level of professionalism, with lots of energy and enthusiasm to match. Singer Tom Rawle is a master of good crowd interaction, making easy conversation with the audience, from asking them at one point to raise their lighters and at another point commenting on the lack of pokie machines in Perth. The band’s relaxed attitude made them very accessible, and had the punters from the outside bar peering through the windows trying to get a good look. With a little bit of plugging for their addition to the Southbound bill, the set ended with a bang, with Rawle jumping into the drum kit, then proceeding to throw his guitar to the floor in a tsunami of feedback.

The Vasco Era took to the stage at the eleventh hour and opened with fan favourite Honey Bee. Sid O’Neil’s screaming vocals had the group head banging and dancing around. An ominous bassline and an epic use of crescendos delivered a fantastic opening and woke up the hotel.

Rock and Roll is the Only Thing that Makes me Feel Good was a highpoint of the set; O’Neill conducted a crazy mosh pit in between swigging from a bottle of wine. People were having ball jumping around, being thrown around and singing (or rather, yelling) along.

The band decided to play a cover and allowed the audience to choose what to play from artists such as Tom Waits, Bob Dylan and Nirvana. A fantastic version of Where is My Mind by the Pixies built a sense of unity within the crowd and was a nice break from a fairly heavy set.

Sid ‘O’Neill drew attention to the date – the 11/11/11 and posited it a big birthday celebration, a party for everyone rather than a gig. He also claimed that he was not allowed to be reviewed because it was a birthday and he was drunk.
This celebratory spirit was evident when the band played new single Child Bearing Hips. An excited crowd commandeered the main stage, drinking the band’s wine and singing into their microphones. It was good to see that they were allowed to do it, but one could see that the band were starting to get annoyed, Especially towards to end where the security had to push people offstage.

Following a few short songs, including a short cover of Happiness is a Warm Gun, the band finished with a cover of Hendrix’s Voodoo Child with a few twists to the lyrics. A buzzing crowd left the Rosemount that night, exhausted but intrigued as to what the two bands will achieve next.

Image by belbel.