It’s Sunday night, it’s raining cats and dogs, freezing cold, and the Fremantle doctor has the flu judging by the gale force winds.
It was always going to be difficult dragging people away from their weekly 60 Minutes of media sensationalism, out of their warm and comfortable homes into the elements just to see a bunch of dirty, scruffy artists recite tales of angst and frustrations to a soundtrack of grungy guitars and tribal drumming.
Perth instrumentalists, Antelope, appear on stage as an even scruffier and hairier audience of social misfits, derelicts, hipsters, and non-conformists down bottles of beer and are as much a part of the experience as the performers.
This is the reward for braving the elements: intimate performances by some of Australia’s best up and coming musicians.
A heavy, melancholic set provided a thought provoking soundtrack to the wild and wet conditions. The rabble huddled around the stage like its a campfire, enjoying the dark guitar melodies, groovy bass lines, and frantic drumming.
The two drummers and sampled earthy sounds take the small but grateful audience to a simpler time, where Monday mornings were for checking the surf or sleeping in.
The impressive and unique quintet easily converse through the music, the lack of vocals and lyric contributing to the sound rather than detracting from it, fuelling imaginations through a musical wonderland.
Sincerely Grizzly comfortably take to the stage for the last show on their national tour. A few technical problems are sorted out before the trio unleash their unique brand of indie, punkish rock.
Guitarist and vocalist Joshua Calligeros is a sight to behold, skin tight jeans, eight feet tall, and wielding an axe that looks as if it has been on loan to the Dwarf King from Lord of the Rings for a trilogy of violent adventures on Middle Earth.
Raw and passionate, the Adelaide three-piece soldier through a short, intellectual and passionate set. Minimalist in their performance and stage banter yet technically proficient, they are all business.
There is a feeling that maybe this is just a sample tasting of Sincere Grizzly, perhaps they are holding something back, just giving us enough to whet our pallets and keep us interested, always alluding to more.
An entertaining act with buckets loads of talent, unfortunately things don’t seem to be working out quite right tonight.
A detectable air of frustration resounds amongst the group. However, to their credit they do not let this creep into the music and they put a huge effort into the set, the audience is appreciative and the group’s hard work pays off.
Perhaps due to the acoustics or sound engineering, the literature part of the self described “Literature Rock” does not break through; vocals seem to be competing rather than accompany the music.
Sincerely Grizzly will no doubt continue to go from strength to strength as they develop their unique sound and performance; the best is yet to come.
To close the night out, Perth locals, Runner, mix spine tingling vocal harmonies and melodic guitar licks, supported by a heterogenic mixture of indie folk rock and tribal beats. It works very well and provides the perfect nightcap for a Sunday evening of live music.
