It’s a rather wet Friday night in Sydney and if you want to see some good ol’ fashioned rock and roll the choice is pretty clear: a quaint little pub in the heart of Surry Hills namely the Excelsior Hotel.

It’s always tough starting a set at 8:30; it’s even tougher when not many people are through the door yet and the crowd is stretched thinly. And so Walrus takes to the stage: a three-piece in matching shirts and ties that seem to be in their early twenties. A cacophony of wailing guitars, thumping drums and growling vocals follow, the lads enlightening us how excited they are to be here tonight. It would appear Walrus borrows their sound from Jet and 1970s-era AC/DC. After many guitar solos and in-between song banter the band exits stage left leaving barely an eyebrow raised from the unenthused but polite crowd.

As The Devine Electric sets up their gear the room seems to fill up with all sorts of rock and roll stereotypes: There’s the old-school rockers, glam rockers, stoners and cock-rockers. Which is rather fitting because if you have ever heard The Devine Electric you will know that they are a combination of all these sub-genres. As the band kicks things off you can’t help but notice frontman Eli in a purple crushed velvet coat. Looking like Steven Tyler’s little brother, this man was born to be a cock-rocking frontman, occasionally addressing the crowd to move closer in a put-on English accent.

The band members are about a decade older than the previous band and seem to have a century’s more experience. Drummer Paul knows exactly how to make a lasting impression when pounding the skins and guitarists Zeno and Ivor creates chunky riffs whilst strutting many-a-pose. The stage seems too small, with bassist Zoran also contending for a piece of the action under this scarlet lit stage.

The leopard-print and leather-clad rockers certainly know how to entertain the crowd, with some punchy stadium-rock riffs and Axl Rose or Rob Halford style vocals. Hell, there’s even a power ballad thrown in for good measure. The Devine Electric came here to entertain, and entertain they did.

What could be more fitting than the Dazed and Confused soundtrack whilst drumkits are set up and guitars are tuned? The room is packed, the lights get dimmed and the Imperial March starts to play. So enter Rollerball to a rapturous crowd.

These Brisbane rockers are no strangers to this fair city, dropping by every few months. This occasion is marked by the release of their new ep, Broken Open, on their own label SSR. From the first few riffs of the opening track you know that this band means business, and it ain’t about dressing snappy either.

Rollerball cares more about the music then looking the part, if drummer Cam Cracker’s wardrobe is anything to go by: a flannel shirt and short-shorts complimented by a beard that would look right at home in a mining prospector community. The string section that is guitarist Dave Talon and bassist Stew “Boots” are exceptionally good at delivering swampy, bluesy riffage mixed in with some crunchy distortion, whilst Matt “Tenpin” has a voice that contemporaries long for as he adds harmonious melodies to some raucous choruses.

One thing that is mandatory in tonight’s performance is the cowbell, and we get plenty of it. Loungeroom Lifer gets the crowd all angsty whilst Highly Likely gets the fists pumping by those punters with Iron Maiden patches sewn onto their denim jackets. And it’s not a proper rock and roll show until we get a drum solo, which is delightfully welcomed by the crowd. After releasing two full length albums, four eps and appearing on more compilations than most of their peers Rollerball definitely do not have a shortage of decent material to back up tonight’s performance.

The final song is the title track Broken Open, and after a solid 90-minute performance the houselights come on. We take to the wet streets, knowing that making good music is all about substance, and not style.