I know not if my finger was throbbing to the drums of Sydney’s pop/rock group Starky or whether it was the week long nail biting build-up of excitement of seeing one of the most genre-breaking groups in Australia, Gerling.
When I arrived I was saddened to hear I missed the first act of the night, local Perth group Sugar Army. For the venue, The Rosemount Hotel is a hard place to find for the weary traveller, lying in the outskirts of Perth’s metro.
The Rosemount was a surprising venue at first to hold such a reputable group as Gerling, whom are probably more suited to inner city clubs. The conformist beer garden was such an unusual place to see pop-rock fashion, often too loosely regarded as ‘emo’ fashion. The dress code of skinny black or grey jeans, the casual out there t-shirt and sweater or suit coat and the daring lopsided hairdo that the punk/pop rockers wear so stylishly.
The corner bar, which is next to the beer garden, was dark and packed providing a much more suited atmosphere, more like the punk-rock bars of the east coast. The second act of the night, Starky, were flashing signals back and forth to the sound gurus at the back of the bar as well as to the audience for the level of volume they wanted. Meanwhile, the ‘differently’ dressed patrons homogenised with the plain clothed people.
As soon as the fashionable guys from Starky started rocking away, playing a mix of their old and new singles, teh happy rocking faces provided a visible sign of how these bands from the other side of Australia upgrade Perth’s culture just that little bit more each time they visit. Starky introduced the tempo and part of the pop/rock genre that Gerling were soon to perform so well.
Anyone expecting a warm up from Gerling or at least a sound check was in for a surprise tonight. They came, they saw and they rocked.
The key ingredient to the trios whacked out tunes is their siphoned electronic vocals which mix well with their grunge/pop instrumentals. Although this sound can be alienating for anyone up for a night of solid dancing (unlike their mainstream dance music hits like ‘Dust Me Selecta’) instead it leaves the crowd simply nodding along and tapping their feet. What finally causes the crowd’s arms to raise are the efforts of the lighting crew – who decided to add a few flashes of retina searing daylight to add to the effect of Gerling’s heavier rock side.
Still, as Gerling wrapped up this part of the Perth tour, the atmosphere of awe at the versatility of the band had most people thinking they would have the new album, 4, in their CD player before one could say ‘Big Day Out’ .They were just that dam good as always.
As the patrons began to file out of the underground venue I approached the backup vocalist/guitarist of the group and asked him what genre he thinks Gerling is, as they are usually considered unclassed. He allowed a die-hard fan to answer instead, the fan gave a very educated lengthy response about how Gerling don’t play for the rules of the genre; they play for the rules set by what their fans want.
The tour for their new album gives their non-mainstream fans a heavy fix until next time Gerling play in Perth. However, their tour-mates, Starky, are breaking ground with their versatile use of light hearted yet intelligent lyrics about happiness and relationships. This is what the new generation (much like the ‘mods and rockers’ from the past who gave no care to politics or war) are seeking. Hopefully one day Perth will see Starky for another taste of enlightening pop culture.
