Airbourne @ East BrunswickClub, Melbourne (17/11/2006)

Sun 19th Nov, 2006 in Gig Reviews

For anyone who has seen at least one of Airbourne’s performances within the past two years were again looking forward to the fun and rush of adrenalin from their fan-fair, 80s air-kicking performances. These boys, born and bred in Warrnambool, brought to the eclectic East Brunswick Club a sense of old-school rock ‘n’ roll that has either been lost or forgotten through the current maze of pop and idol-manufactured mumbo-jumbo.

Many stragglers were begging for spare tickets in and around the front bar at the sold-out show. Some were successful while others had to contend with spending the rest of the evening with their ears pressed against the walls of the venue. The lucky ones, whom had purchased their tickets in advance, experienced a sense of rock buzzing through the air. With Black Guns starting the night off, drinks were in our hands and comfortable shoes were on our feet as we found ourselves bopping away. The Devil Rock Four (or otherwise described as “Kool Kats” by some audience members), rocked the EB with their sound which complimented the night perfectly.

As the crowd cheered when Airbourne appeared onstage, the band charged straight into asking the kiddies of Melbourne “are you ready to rock?!” This then meticulously led the band into playing the songs the audience had been waiting for, with many finding themselves nodding and tapping away as quickly as the first guitar strum. The boys played some songs which were not on their Ready to Rock EP and we welcomed the new songs with open arms, saluting the band with raised fists. The audience loved Airbourne’s song about the girls at the Cherry Bar (which sounded like Aerosmith’s Dude Looks like a Lady) and cheered for more. Women on Top saw Joel O’Keeffe making his way casually through the crowd mid-song as he towered on the bar to arouse the audience while half a dozen punters tried their luck at crowd surfing with much success. With many shirts torn, VB cans angrily crushed and bodies surfing the crowd, the EB surely served up a great night of rock. Airbourne then later returned from their encore to play Stand and Deliver as we all rocked to this better known hit.

Despite much criticism floating around in the media with regards to how to categorise these boys, alluding to suggestions whether they were serious about their music or taking the piss out of bands like AC/DC, or whether Airbourne is merely a cover band with a change of lyrics, we all enjoyed their music and had plenty of fun along the way. I think the boys couldn’t care less about who they’re supposed to be; they would rather us enjoy their performance and always be ready to rock.