With one of Brisbane’s best and most unique live music venues hosting three great bands, tonight’s show was bound to be fantastic. Indeed, as local three-piece Men Into Space began their set with their self-described “vintage futuristic Sci-fiabilly”, the night kicked off with a bang. Playing to a small, generally unresponsive crowd, the lack of audience enthusiasm to on-stage banter did not seem to phase the space-inspired rockabilly band, with the old-time space suit-donned trio churning out one amazing, utterly jive-able tune after another. By the end of the set, the crowd cheering and applause had grown by an exponential rate from what it was at the start of their set for good reason. Whether you are into rockabilly or not, if you like to dance with reckless abandon, this is one act you should check out for your own sake.
After a short break, Gold Coast punk/metal act The Wrath hit the stage, ready to provide the crowd with a much heavier dose of rock than what they had just witnessed. From the outset, the band blew eardrums, and almost speakers, with their frenetic hardcore-styled punk rock. Having been on tour with Zombie Ghost Train for a few shows already, the band were comfortable opening for the psychobilly act, despite their somewhat different style of music. It was this difference in phonics that appeared to turn off some members of the crowd, however the five-piece continued to rip through their set at a blistering pace on what was their final show with Zombie Ghost Train, and fourth-last on their own separate “Australian” tour. Overall, the band managed to deliver a solid set of heavy songs, and subsequently create a darker, heavier atmosphere, which gave the crowd an opportunity to prepare for the final act of tonight’s horror show.
The minutes seemed to fly by between the final two sets, with Melbourne’s favourite mortuary musicians taking to the stage to rapturous applause. Playing songs off their Monster Formal Wear, Glad Rags And Body Bags, and recently-released Dealing The Death Card records, Zombie Ghost Train gave the crowd exactly what they wanted – loud, horror-drenched psychobilly. The mob danced and pushed their way thoughout the whole spooktacular set, lashing out to classics Black, White, Dead, Dealing The Death Card and set closer Devil Child among other great tunes. Returning for two (or was it three? who knows?) “encores”, the make-up clad three-piece surely woke the dead with their final songs – if they hadn’t already done so. As the house lights came on, fans left satisfied with tonight’s performance, which should be a common feeling amongst residents of Europe and the USA soon, as the band depart for overseas for a string of dates at the start of next month. However, if you missed them, don’t fret, as they will surely return to their homeland soon enough to continue horrifying audiences all across the nation.
