Gerling @ the Zoo, Brisbane(26/05/06)

Tue 30th May, 2006 in Gig Reviews

Very late on a freezing night in a club above Ann Street in Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley, a packed-in crowd gathered. Some were drinking; some smoking, some snookering but each was sharing the same buzz of anticipation for the arrival of one of Australia’s best musical trios.

One punter could no longer contain his enthusiasm, levering himself high onto a railing calling “Gerliiiiiiiiiing” to the skies with his arms outstretched. His mate patted him on the back with an understanding and acknowledgement for his friend’s longing.

It seems most Gerling fans have been following them since the start and are extremely loyal. The houselights switched off and the three boys from Sydney took their place on stage. The Zoo is a great venue, renowned for hosting some of the most intimate concerts with extremely talented acts. This night was no different. Gerling are such an amazing and prolific band! Their electro/ punk beginnings have currently morphed in to a collaboration of dance and kick-arse rock. They create sound that is addictive to the ears and the body. The crowd couldn’t decide whether to booty-shake or head-bang, so they did both – and they loved it!

On the night, fans also did more than merely clap for a song on its completion, they were stomping feet, raising arms and punching the air. Only a tiny minority were speckled around the back of the usually bustling bar while Gerling performed, no one in The Zoo wanted to miss a single moment of the experience the band presented.

The guys have great skills with a great sense of humour to boot, cheers echoed when a band member introduced a song by saying “This song was banned in Germany! Wooooo!”. There was lots of energy and lots of fun.The crowds smiling faces made me wonder why we don’t hear more about these lads in the mainstream and why they don’t book larger venues to play. I believe Gerling are refreshingly still very much about producing great music for the audience that has always supported them.

I can see why the punters aren’t in any rush to see them get overly commercialised either, ticket holders seem quite content to keep Gerling as their own underground music secret, that way they can continue to have the loudness and the liveliness they bring all to themselves. See them up-close while you still can!