The Melbourne Bitter was flowing as the bearded and the inked huddled together at The Hi-Fi, but it wasn’t just the warmth and beer that drew them in; they were gearing up for a night of chain-rattling horror-country that only Melbourne’s own Graveyard Train could provide.
After Jackals took to the stage – handmade guitar in tow – in a heavy, gritty set that quickly roused the crowd from their winter chills, it was time for another local act, Howl at the Moon.
Channelling 90s grunge not only aurally but visually too – sporting a brown leather pencil skirt – Katie Scott and the boys stepped on stage and the lazier of the fans eventually rose to their feet. However the crowd remained somewhat subdued throughout their set, perhaps due to some issues with sound levels that resulted in Katie’s dark yet sultry voice often being drowned out.
“The Hostage” from debut album Squalls, with its lively keys intro thanks to newcomer Ryan Nico, stirred the punters a little more. Album favourite, the dark and moody “Let The Mainsheet Down, My Love” turned up the energy dial, and after the melancholic “I (Just) Want To Hold Your hand” drew the audience in, Katie (a.k.a Ladie D) declared, “we’re really fucking looking forward to seeing Graveyard Train.” She’s not alone.
Fairy lights, Hawaiian leis and Willy Wonka’s “Pure Imagination.” Not the setting one expects from a band with such song titles as “The End of the World” and “Gravedigger Sam”, but any Graveyard Train fan will tell you that though macabre, these men like to have fun; and men they are: big, strong, loud, sweaty men with chains and hammers and wearing sturdy leather boots made for stomping.
The crowd goes wild (and so does Beau Skowron) when all seven of them march on stage and begin the ear-splitting “One Foot in the Grave” from new album, Hollow. After a foot-stomping, high-energy rendition of latest single, “I’m Gone”, friend and drummer Stephen Devlin (of Brothers Grim) is welcomed on stage to work his magic on timpani for “A Tall Shadow”- a favourite from their second album, The Drink, The Devil and The Dance. The room vibrates with the unique force of six booming baritones in unison, and the crowd knows that they are in the presence of something special.
In sticking with the theatrical nature of their performance, lead singer Nick Finch donned his signature felt hat for “Scarecrow” as Josh Crawley captivated the crowd on lap steel, before going straight into the ultimate crowd-pleaser, “Even Witches Like To Go Out Dancing.” The fans cheer as Finch hugs chain player, Adam Johansen (there is a lot of hugging within this band), and tells them – as if it wasn’t already obvious – “we’re having a great time.”
If you want to see someone having a great time, look no further than Beau Skowron. With his Jagger-esque pouting and dance moves, it almost seems as though he forgets there is an audience as he struts his way towards the back of the stage and plays with the mannequin heads on sticks (another decoration). Not that this detracts from his performance; he is nothing short of entertaining and leaves no room for doubt that he loves playing as much as people love to watch him.
“Bit By A Dog” had even those on the Hifi’s balcony singing along, when Finch tells them that “I hope you’re all drinking,” before the band mates pass around a bottle of whiskey; how rock n roll.
He dedicated their last song, “Mummy”, to ‘all the women who have given birth’, and as the last bellows ring out there is no doubt that an encore is on the way. Though the twinkling fairy lights are the only life left on stage, the pounding of punters’ feet and fists is almost louder than Graveyard Train had been. It’s not long before they return to rapturous applause, pick up their guitars, washboards, chains and hammers, and belt out “Mary Melody.”
After the men were gone and the lights came up, the crowd, almost as sweaty, red-eyed and weary as those on stage, reluctantly filed out into the cold night air, thankful for a killer night of ghost stories aboard the Graveyard Train.
– Monique Sebire
