Originally formed in 1980 by brothers Jeff and Steve Mc Donald, Redd Kross are one of the most underrated bands of the past 30 years. Specialising in intelligent, deftly played power pop, this is a band who seemed to have evaded massive popularity, instead gaining a fervent cult following over the past three decades.
With the gathering crowd ably warmed up by supports The Casanovas and The Spazzys, the Californian four-piece added a bit more heat to what was already a sauna-like front bar at The Esplanade Hotel.
Recent visitors to Australia last year as part of the Dig It Up! Invitational curated by the Hoodoo Gurus, Red Kross have definitely won themselves more fans in the past year in this part of the world as a result. This has only been consolidated by the excellent recent album, Researching The Blues.
Kicking off with “Linda”, the band proceeded to power through a sprightly and energetic 75-minute set. The band had a lot more power and crunch with their live sound, which turned out to be something of a blessing and a curse.
What has made Redd Kross special over time is the sense of a unique musical character. Tonight, the band suffered from an extremely loud sound mix, which somewhat smothered this sense of character and resulted in them sounding at times like any other generic band racking up the volume level on their instruments and bashing away.
It’s a shame when you see a band play below the high standards they have set for themselves and surpassed on previous occasions.
Nonetheless, the quartet themselves were very polished and entertaining. Professing their love for our city and St Kilda in particular, they definitely charmed the assembled crowd.
Musical highlights included the storming “Switchblade Sister” and a cracking take on the gem of a track, “Jimmy’s Fantasy”. Again, the noise factor towards the end of the set became excessive and a little self-indulgent.
Not helping matters, the second encore was completely unnecessary and evolved into a love-in between the band and the audience. While the intentions on both sides were good, when a gig gets a punter to the point of wanting it to simply finish, it’s not a good thing.
Overall, this was a quality gig – albeit a frustrating one at times. While capable of utter brilliance on stage, the foursome just didn’t quite hit the heights they proved capable of on their last visit to these shores.
