Another Saturday, another Tone Deaf event. This one included, pleasantly enough, a plethora of heavy guitar hooks and an Elephants on Parade reel. Revolver played host to an eclectic collective of rock enthusiasts, wanderers and die-hard fans, buzzing with anticipation for Lady Strangelove’s launch of single, ‘Sweet Exchange’.
Mary Of The Moon, from Melbourne, were a great start to the show, with their moody instrumental blues, getting into your bones, and producing not quite a dance, but perhaps a melancholy sway. They create a sound that is almost a mood, the kind that envelopes you in purple haze, involving you with the music with every drum beat. They went seamlessly from one song to the next, making it effortless and keeping with the ambience of the room.
Second in line was Shaman Son. Also from Melbourne, their influences range from Soundgarden to Pink Floyd, and they describe their sound as “heavy stoner tripped out melodic rock”, and their music made clear exactly what that entails. The lead singer had some voice on him, ranging from deep wails, spoken words within the songs and some intense screaming. Towards the end, he said ‘I don’t know if you guys noticed, but we’re drunk!’ and the band proceeded to thrash out the next song. The bass player concluded their set by jumping on an amplifier while the lead singer went bonkers with a tambourine in an epic instrumental smash and bang while simultaneously wrapping himself in the mic cord. These guys know how to put on a show!
Lady Strangelove (and guitarist, Josh Van Looy’s bountiful mane of hair) finally graced the stage, with the previously mentioned reel of psychedelic goodness playing in the background and smoke machines galore. When they opened, you were surprised that the quiet guy you saw skulking around the venue most of the night was front man, Brendan Shaw, who is equipped with an intense voice reminiscent of something between Robert Plant and Axl Rose. The Adelaide crew has been recording their debut album with Sylvia Massey in the States, and you can tell that they are on the road to making a great record, with their Led Zeppelin-esque sound and Dandy Warhols vibes shining through in the best possible way.
Tone Deaf delivered the goods at Revolver with a stellar line up of home grown acts to nourish and overwhelm the senses and send you head first into drowning in the sound of music goodness.
– Zahra Khamissa
