Waiting in the front bar of the Northcote Social Club for the start of Wolf and Cub’s sold out gig, I was filled with great expectations. My beloved Melbourne Demons had beaten the much fancied St Kilda in the finals and were now taking the game to Fremantle. David Neitz had just slotted through a goal from an impossible angle and I, along with a bar full of wishful Victorians, could practically see the game won. I had also recently bought Wolf and Cub’s first LP Vessels and had been blown away by the avalanche of noise they created, with their riff heavy, guttural guitars and groove laden bass lines. So I sauntered into the NSC’s bandroom, certain I was not only going to witness a raucous display of rock and roll from Wolf and Cub but also well assured that a great finals victory was in the making. However, if you build things up too much you set yourself up for a fall and I learnt this the hard way tonight.

First up Mercy Arms graced the stage and before they came on I was quite unsure of their credentials. A friend had told me that they were awesome - she thought they were going to make it big and was positive that at least one of them would go on to be Prime Minister of Australia or something. So after all this talking up these guys needed to deliver and that is exactly what they did. While some songs sounded rather like The Cure, the rest of the set was liberally peppered with selections of indie rock goodness, with strident guitar chords running against a frenetic bass line while the quirky second guitarist coaxed wack sounds out of his telecaster. The singer’s soaring falsetto was brilliant and while they aren’t re-inventing the wheel, by the time Mercy Arms had finished I was a converted follower.

Once they exited the stage’s curtains were ominously closed while exotic sounds floated through the speaker. Eventually, the curtains opened to reveal Wolf and Cub and by now the band room was packed. Joel’s straggly hair fell down his face as he kicked off the set, while bass player Tom swooning to the soundscape his band was creating, played with his eyes closed and back to the audience.

However, there was something lacking. In my head they should’ve been affronting, heavy and threatening, with the two drumkits rattling ribcages while a fuzzy bass slashed through a dark, murky guitar. The drums should’ve been frantically powering away as the two guitars attempt to play catch up, yet apart from a few brief moments like the end of This Mess and Seeds of Doubt, the band didn’t deliver.

While they ticked all the boxes with tunes like March of Clouds and Vessels, which they ended their set on, Wolf and Cub shouldn’t be ticking the boxes. They should be throwing the pen away and spilling beer on the floor as they charge into another desperate rockin’ tune, however what should’ve sounded like primal rock merely sounded loud. Maybe my expectations were to high after simply loving their album, but regardless I walked away disappointed. It was a good gig, but nothing mind-blowing…and yes, Melbourne lost.