If any band can make a crowd get up and boogie more than the Eagles of Death Metal I’d certainly like to see them. After almost 20 years, four hard partying albums and more tattoos that you can count, you’d think a band would run out of steam.
In lieu of the Paris attacks I don’t think anyone would have begrudged the band some time out of the spotlight. However the EODM took little respite before they next went electric, vowing to finish what they started in touring their recent album.
The culmination of the Zipper Down Australian tour seems to have been an emotionally rejuvenating experience for the band, especially front man Jessie Hughes. It comes as no surprise then that a last minute show was tacked onto the end of the tour in Melbourne (the city’s third).
The tour support from four piece All the Colours had been widely praised so I was quite surprised when a mere three band members took the stage. Announcing straight off the bat that their singer was in Brazil and that they were just going to play covers absolutely set the tone for the night.
Launching unceremoniously into a stack of hard rock anthems from the Smashing Pumpkins, Led Zeppelin, QOTSA and Nirvana, All the Colours got us sufficiently amped for A hard drinking celebration of rock and letting it all hang out. The set even came complete with shitty festival punter front and center sporting native American headdress and a red bull polo…
The tone was set and the wait was over. Dimming the lights the speakers began to blast an epic tune from the movie Rocky as the curtains revealed the Eagles of Death Metal to the screaming crowd. A cloaked Jessie Hughes sauntered up to the mic…
“You have no idea how much I love you motherfuckers” he yelled over the audience. Ditching his silk boxers cloak for a signature pair of red aviators Hughes and the band took off at a sprint, blasting us with a slew of crowd favorites urging everyone to boogie down.
The Eagles of Death Metals loyal fan base made it impossible not to get embroiled in every single song they played, few in particular stood out because they were all so incredibly loved. ‘Cherry Cola’ perhaps saw the greatest enthusiasm but track after track saw the crowd lapping up all the band had to offer.
This is a show that felt like a quality house party, plain and simple.
Ever the showman Hughes remained quality hosts throughout, serving as a constant source of entertainment. The recently ordained Jessie Hughes seems to have fallen comfortably into his new title of Reverend, delivering powerful sermons to his willing masses; “This ain’t a Bible study, this is rock and roll!”
His charming southern drawl had the audience begging for more, despite the thinly veiled mild sexism of constantly complementing all the beautiful ladies a few to many times. Frequent sexual innuendoes were qualified with the suffix ‘…artistically speaking of course!’ and if ever there was a break for air, the crowd was placated with a barraged of guitar picks.
Jessie Hughes spent a great portion of the night positively gushing over his audience. Taking breaks between songs to thank the crowd and express his happiness at being in a room with so many positive beer soaked party animals.
You could read on his face the sincerity and gratitude that came with his thanks. The Australian tour had clearly been a cathartic experience for the severely traumatised rock star, this particular show might have even been better for him than it was for the adoring masses. I felt honored and humbled to be part of the cohort lifting his spirits.
We were treated to an intimate acoustic interlude with Hughes strumming out a few of his favorite Hill Billy anthems, and one weirdly popular song from the TV sitcom Sabrina. The calm before the storm of the bands return, this proved to be a chance for him to get down and dirty with his audience, a peak behind the curtain of early EODM, showing us how it all started.
Around midnight band tapered off into a somewhat lacklustre country-blues guitar battle. Despite some love from the crowd I couldn’t help but fell that the blazing electric solos felt ironically out of place in an otherwise electric set. Nonetheless it was an amazing spectacle and contributed to the spur of the moment party vibe the whole show had in spades.
After the small lull of Solopalooza we were whisked back into the action for the last of the tunes, before The Rev himself thanked us again for the good time party vibes, inviting us to continue the party with him and the band “at the Ding Dong Club”. Much to the dismay of the enraptured Croxton crowd this was when the band triumphantly departed the stage for the last time.
So I stumbled out, hoarse from singing every word, sporting a ‘Pigeons of Shit Metal’ t-shirt and thoroughly partied out thanks to magic showmanship of The Reverend Jessie Hughes. It’s easy to see why he and the Eagles of Death Metal remain The Devil’s favorite sons.
