The Presidents Of The United States Of America continue the resurgence of ‘90s bands hitting our shores with a visit to The Hi-Fi tonight.
Armed with their debut album, to be played in full, and a stack of other hits for a setlist, it seems no fan is going to be disappointed. Tasked with warming up the crowd are Brisbane indie pop band Hey Geronimo and local rockers Blonde On Blonde.
The ‘Blondes’, as they’re affectionately known, take the stage early in the evening to treat the quickly filling room to a dose of their groove rock, complete with plenty of rocking guitar solos and the best damn sound in the world… cowbell.
Playing a selection of old and new songs, such as “Oh My Oh My” and “Friends In Danger”, the five-piece don’t get a huge reaction from the room at first, but by the end of the set their strutting rock n’ roll has certainly gained them some new friends.
Next to the stage are fellow Brisbane musicians Hey Geronimo. The band play through their set with great enthusiasm and energy to a slightly larger crowd. The dorky dancing on stage just adds to the fun as they play songs like “Why Don’t We Do Something”.
Joining the five-piece band tonight is a four-piece brass section – along with, for a couple of tracks, a heavily bearded rapper. A cover of Talking Heads’ “Burning Down The House” brings about the end of the set for these very talented artists.
Finally the time has come for The Presidents to take the stage. The band immediately provoke a massive reaction from the crowd with opening tracks “Some Postman” and “Mach 5”. Playing on a very bare stage, the three-piece take up every inch of it with their energetic performance.
“Last Girl On Earth” and new song “Finger Monster” keep the set ticking along, however it gets kicked up a notch when the ‘meows’ of “Kitty” and the hard rocking “Lump” get a play. The band’s bad dance moves are effective at encouraging the crowd to dance along. As a surprise for the audience, the intro to Iron Maiden’s “Number Of The Beast” starts up, but eventually segues into easily one of the crowd’s favourites, “Peaches”.
“Dune Buggy” keeps the punters hyped before drum solos and a massive finish on “Body” – including a 217-note wall of sound at the end – take the set out and bring on the encore.
Returning with a host of covers, the Presidents smash out a medley of Split Enz’s “I Got You”, Human League’s “Don’t You Want Me”, The Saints’ “Stranded”, The Ramones’ “I Wanna Be Sedated”, Fatboy Slim’s “Praise You” and finally Buggles’ “Video Killed The Radio Star”. Every single song has the crowd going wild before the band decide to end with “Ghosts Are Everywhere”.
After a full set of classics and covers, the Presidents leave the good people of Brisbane worn out and thoroughly satisfied.
