First act of the evening were The Messengers. Not to be confused with Paul Kelly’s backing band from many years ago, the contemporary version put in an enjoyable set. Their style is very much a combination of late sixties and early seventies rock and pop. One could see and hear the influence of acts such as Chicago, The Rolling Stones and The Easybeats in their music. Thankfully, the band very much had their own take on their influences, and made them their own.
Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for Frowning Clouds. Having seen them roughly a year ago supporting the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, they were sloppy, derivative and uninteresting then. Unfortunately, not much has changed since. All of their songs sound exactly the same, in the same style and time signature. At times, it all sounds like one big, boring song with the occasional break here and there. There is nothing wrong with showing one’s influence in regards to music. However, Frowning Clouds, like Wolfmother before them, skate dangerously close to plagiarism, in this case bands like The Small Faces, The Who and especially The Easybeats and The Kinks. Why would one listen to a bad photocopy of sixties music when they can simply listen to the original material? Finally, their singing left a great deal to be desired. Collectively, the band sounded like a bunch of cats having sex while drowning. Nothing against ‘unconventional’ voices; Johnny Rotten, Kurt Cobain and Shaun Ryder are great examples of not exactly classical voices. They even managed to murder the classic Huey “Piano” Smith & The Clowns track “Don’t You Just Know It” via a horrible cover version. They are a painful experience live.
The next act took the night to an unexpected place and added a well timed boost of laughter and enjoyment to erase the experience that was Frowning Clouds. Barry Morgan is a comedy act very much in the vein of Garry Mc Donald’s Norman Gunston and Barry Humphries’ Dame Edna Everidge; character based comedy, something you very rarely see in Australia these days. Barry Morgan is the creation of Stephen Teakle, a very talented pianist, composer and music director that has worked in the Northern Territory for many years, introducing music to remote communities. He has also played with the likes of the Warumpi Band, Archie Roach and Paul Kelly. “Barry” is an organ salesman from Adelaide, demonstrating the joys and wonder of organ playing.
It was an unusual and brave move putting on a comedian in the middle of a rock gig; but it worked beautifully. However, the half hour set was just the right amount of time; this sort of act could become old fast if overdone. The majority of the audience seemed to ‘get’ and enjoy the act. However, that wasn’t a sentiment totally shared, as halfway through the show, one patron literally jumped on stage and pulled the plug on the organ! Barry, ever the professional, plugged back in and continued. It’s hard to be sure if it was real or a set up, but nonetheless a different and very enjoyable experience.
Finally, it was on to the headline act of the evening, Eagle And The Worm. Formed in 2009 by Jarrad Brown, former bass player for Melbourne band Custom Kings, the band is very much he pursuing his musical vision. The very talented eight piece band had the crowd’s attention from the cracking opening track, ‘Gameshow’. Tonight’s set was the launch for their debut album, Good Times, which the band ran through tonight with a great deal of energy and charm.
Brown and his band are extremely talented and tonight they were in very fine form. There are so many shades and influence one hears throughout their music, such as Bruce Springsteen, Parliament/Funkadelic, The Arcade Fire and many others. However, they never come off as derivative; they really strive to take their influences and put their own spin on them. There is also such a wonderful and palpable chemistry between the band members on both a musical and personal level. The fun that they have when playing live is utterly infectious. Brown, while not having the greatest singing voice, uses it in a highly effective way that compliments the music beautifully.
Tonight displayed a young and ambitious band putting in a great set. Highlights included the title track off the album, ‘Too Young’, a very impressive vocal performance from various band members combined on ‘Young And Free’, which Brown referred to as their “Boyz II Men moment”! Another fantastic moment was when venerable Melbourne music stalwart Spencer P. Jones joined the band onstage for a storming cover version of “Rocks Off”, the Rolling Stones track off their classic Exile On Main Street album, a version that compared very favourably with the original.
Other great moments and tracks during the night included ‘Stereo Daze’, the striking ‘Come Home Love’ and ‘Futureman’.From a punter/listener perspective, Eagle And The Worm are such a great band. One never is completely sure where their music will take them. This is so rare in a time where everything is so bland and predictable.
The biggest crowd response was saved for their best known track, ‘All I Know’, with its beautiful Brazilian influenced brass section, sending the crowd into a singing and dancing frenzy! A fantastic and, above all else, fun band and a pleasure to see and experience live.
– Neil Evans
