The Bees @ The Corner Hotel,Melbourne (04/01/2007)

Mon 8th Jan, 2007 in Gig Reviews

On a night so hot that belts were pointless because the sweat clamped your jeans to your legs, Melbourne’s tireless punters lifted themselves from sticky couches and ventured to the Corner Hotel. Why? Well, a cold beer on a hot night and the added bonus of hearing the British six-piece The Bees finally hitting Australian shores in advance of their upcoming third album, The Octopus. With a debut album called Sunshine Hit Me, perhaps it was no surprise that when The Bees came to Melbourne we had to brave sweltering heat to hear them play.

Playing support, The Exploders took to the stage before a sparse audience, though the Corner had both bars open; always a good indication that a full-ish house is expected. The luring combination of a nearby rooftop bar and cool change had worked to stall the arrival of many punters. But as the retro rock chugged out from the speakers and wafted upstairs the crowd soon grew.

The Exploders boasted between songs that they have “no tricks” and that’s a fair description of their sound. They claim the Easybeats and Stones as influences and that’s basically what they sound like. Maybe the surge in the size of the crowd was caused by some rooftop drinkers assuming they were missing an unannounced Jet gig, but it’s hard to imagine the Exploders cutting their way to glory when Jet have been so busy crash-landing the retro sound. It seems unlikely that the Exploders will be launching any records on a barge on the Yarra, but if Jet needs a support band, or understudy, the Exploders will be ready.

While they mirror Jet, the Exploders also mirror each other, as each Exploder sports near identical versions of the shaggy hair and beard ensemble required by their 60s sound. Somewhere in Melbourne there is a factory producing beards, guitars and mix-tapes of sixties rock and they’re clearly making a killing. Their ‘Big Hair Revolution’ may be intended as mockery but they could easily be sneering in the mirror. The games of ‘pick that rehashed riff’ totally collapsed with a bust-out of an actual cover, a rousing take on the Small Faces’ Little Tin Soldier. 

The Bees (or Band of Bees for any American readers) took to the stage with lead vocalist, Paul Butler, apologising for shredding his voice during the tour. But apologies quickly proved unnecessary as the band threw themselves – Butler’s vocals included – into the lurching No Atmosphere. Butler is assisted by the superb backing harmonies of his band-mates, while bass player Tim Parkin handles some of the rockier, beardier vocals. All Bees were in fine voice celebrating the final show of this rare tour.

The Bees specialise in a summer-time barbeque soundtrack vibe, mixing sweet soul and British Invasion sounds with their warm Hammond and Rhodes keys, brass and shuffling, faintly reggae drumming. A mid set instrumental idly adds a tex-mex vibe, while the carnival frivolity of Go-Karts feels as though it was written for the benefit of Mr Kite. The set list focused on their 2004 album Free the Bees with samples of their debut and a taste of the forthcoming record. Inevitably, their hit Northern Soul pastiche Chicken Payback was held for the encore and rounded out the gig in fine style.

It’s always difficult for a band to preview their new material on the road, particularly on a first tour when their audiences are hungry for the songs they’ve been waiting to hear for years. Yet new songs such as Who Cares What the Question Is? with its megaphone vocals and likely future single Listening Man are great additions to the Bees catalogue. The slower tempo Listening Man, featuring duelling harmonies and horns, is a perfect summer soundtrack.

If ever there was a time to play One Glass of Water it was in this sultry heat and many punters could be spotted taking up the song’s suggestion as they made their way to the bar. A few glasses were held aloft in appreciation, a variation on the lighter in the air that easily surpasses the sight of mobile phones shining in the crowd.

Wash in the Rain was played in a vain attempt to conjure storms into the SCG and save the English from the shame of a whitewash. The song did nothing to end the Ashes misery, but the Corner crowd lapped up the tune and anything else the Bees had to offer. Other than their lead guitarist, who looks like a refugee from Primal Scream’s Riot City, the Bees casually swapped instruments between tunes, proving to be far better all-rounders than their nation’s cricketers. Maybe they should stay around for the one-dayers – if you’re playing trumpet, drums, guitar and singing surely you can bat and bowl as well.