Hoobastank, The Gingers @ TheHi-Fi Bar (01/02/2007)

Fri 2nd Feb, 2007 in Gig Reviews

Hoobastank careened back into Australia for the first time in almost three years with a frenzied show that further elevated the group’s reputation for grinding rock. But none of this took place at Rod Laver Arena; nor did it happen at Festival Hall. Instead, the four US college rock darlings and established chart-toppers smashed perceptions that their hard-rocking days were behind them on a dank and dimly-lit stage at Melbourne’s Hi-Fi Bar and Ballroom, the very same venue the lads had traversed some three years prior.

If you’re finding it hard to visualise a group of such international standing grinding through a sweaty set-list in front of just 300 people, you’re not the only one. Was it planned this way? Or does Hoobastank really struggle for a following here despite its long list of top-ten singles? A cynic would suggest the last minute shift from Metro to Hi-Fi Bar reeked of poor sales, though one has to give benefit of the doubt to the venue change considering the recent incident at the Bourke Street nightclub during which one punter was stabbed in the eyeball with a chair leg.

Yeowch!

In any case, the move was an overwhelming success, not only giving vocalist Doug Robb a chance to truly maximise his between-song banter but also granting Aussie fans the kind of intimate access that their US counterparts would only dream about, but more about that in a bit.

A strong performance from support act The Gingers kicked off proceedings, the all-girl punk trio warming the crowd with a shagadelic set of hairy pop-rock (think B52s with guitars). Remarkable was singer Chelsea Wheatley’s command of the stage, her stage persona displaying a maturity unexpected from a mere “teen”. In fact, Wheatley’s onstage histrionics and rapid-fire shifts from bass to keyboards gave fans as much a visual focus as the sexy schoolgirl cuteness epitomised by all three girls. While it was a delight to behold the fuzziness that emanated from their (guitar) boxes, The Gingers probably ran ten minutes too long, undoing some of their good work and struggling to air the final two songs amid the tense milling of the mosh.

After a trivial and pointless soundcheck, Hoobastank hit the ground running with Austereo favourite “Crawling in the Dark”, before moving swiftly into “Up and Gone”. Disappointingly, Robb’s vocals were muffled throughout both these songs – something I mistakenly attributed to his penchant for cupping the mic. Thankfully, he was cutting through the drum-heavy mix with improved clarity by third song “Inside of You” and never looked back.

On a stage that so often accommodates hacks, Hoobastank’s professionalism was indisputably apparent; Dan Estrin (guitar), Josh Moreau (bass) and Chris Hesse laying a (seemingly) flawless music backdrop down with the kind of effortlessness that comes from years of touring large arenas. Throughout, Robb fulfilled his role as frontman and band spokesman to perfection, offering visual stimulus when singing by climbing constantly over foldbacks to fill dead stage space, and working hard between songs to instil a “house party” vibe in the cosy surroundings that markedly changed the gig dynamics for the better.

The set list catered for fans of all eras including material from all three Hoobastank albums. ‘Born to Lead’ and ‘The First of Me’ were crowd favourites, while it was hard to go past ‘Running Away’ and ‘Just One’ for the intense level of energy and audience participation each involved – the former delivered entirely by voices from the crowd.

Fulfilling Robb’s house party ambitions, the sing-a-long continued through an excellent rendition of ‘If I were you’, after which the band dug deep to drop some welcome surprises, such as a seamless segue into Black Sabbath’s ‘War Pigs’ during the bridge for ‘Pieces’.

The band won further points for choosing to flow straight into the encore without the traditional exit and re-entrance, but then failed to keep the energy pumping with a poorly-timed rendition of the ballad ‘More than a Memory’, complete with cello. It was a minor oversight quickly forgotten after a medley involving Pink Floyd’s ‘The Wall’, Bon Jovi’s ‘Living on a Prayer’ and Duran Duran’s ‘Hungry like a Wolf’ – a curious choice, sure, but very fun stuff for both audience and band alike.

Closing with ‘The Reason’, ‘Part of Me’ and ‘Out of Control’, Hoobastank whipped the crowd into one final frenzy before making a grand exit. Leaving the venue, there was much to ponder: what had potentially loomed as a poorly-sold, anti-climactic gathering of only true fans finished as one of the finest rock performances to pass through the Hi-Fi in years. I exited counting my blessings for having been in attendance while scolding myself for thinking that this was ever going to be anything but a ripping rock and roll extravaganza at a house party with old friends.

Setlist:

Crawling in the Dark
Up and Gone
Inside of You
Never There
Running Away
Look where we are
Just One
Moving Forward
Born to Lead
The First of Me
Same Direction
If I Were You
Pieces (with Black Sabbath’s ‘War Pigs’)

Encore:

More than a memory
Medley: The Wall (Pink Floyd) / Living on a Prayer (Bon Jovi) / Hungry like a Wolf (Duran Duran)
The Reason
Part of Me
Out of Control