Alhambra Lounge in known in Brisbane for its great taste in local and national bands, and the Triple Treat aka Step-Panther, Bored Nothings and Gung Ho national tour was no exception.
From Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney respectively, each band headlined the show in their own city, and for their Alhambra gig Brisbane’s Gung Ho were up to bat.
It was sure to be something of a wild night, and Step-Panther kicked things off with their usual high boozed up energy and crazy stage antics.
Between conversing over bands who use foot spas on stage and drawing attention to Gung Ho’s commandeered bass drum now plainly stating “Gung Ho Sux,” Step-Panther put on quite a show. Their songs were short, sweet and scuzzy; some because they were written that way and some because somebody screwed up and they thought it better just to quit while they were ahead.
None the less, they were by far the most entertaining of the night, their songs melting and grinding against each other, the boys running up and slamming their guitars together, Steve Bourke doing more moaning and grunting than really singing.
“Nothing fancy, nothing insincere” is a self-prophecy of sorts, the lyrics to ‘Rock And Roll Alone’ describing their performance style to a tee. That’s kind of the whole point of Step-Panther. The boys have fun and you have fun watching them, it’s a win-win scenario and the product is some insane tunes and a guaranteed good time.
Bored Nothing aka Fergus Millar and his live band were up next, and considerably more tame than their predecessors. Around this time the venue started to get busy and Millar’s dulcet tones filled the room, a few people grooving along with two guys up the front head banging and getting really into it. Being stoned, being bored, feeling lost were all themes that Bored Nothing addressed, and undoubtedly ones most of the crowd could relate to.
While Millar’s lyrics are deep and incredibly written, they were slightly lost within the performance. A certain band member somewhat stole the show with his cool cat stage antics, but the rest of the unit played well together. It was an enjoyable set, ‘Shit For Brains’ being a definite favourite, next to ‘Popcorn’ and ‘Only Old.’
Headlining the show in their hometown, Gung Ho were definitely the highlight of the night. Bringing with them their usual high quality, energetic performance, the boys finally got the crowd going.
‘Twin Rays’ was a highlight, the sweet pop tune filling the venue with surf inspired guitar, an easy beat and nice thudding bass. It’s such a catchy song and a breeze to dance to, which is probably why the room quickly filled and the bodies started to move.
Other memorable tunes included ‘Side By Side’ as well as ‘Strangers’ and ‘Autumn.’
Gung Ho put on a great gig, and even came back for an encore, despite the DJ being ready to spin some tunes. What eventuated next was this sort of live music/DJ war, punters in front of the stage yelling somewhat comedic abuse towards the decks and vice versa.
Local Dune Rat BC even went up to the decks to physically stop the club tunes but to no avail. It was all fun and games and it made for an interesting ending to a radical night of music making.
Adelaide and Melbourne are the last two cities the Triple Treat are set to run amok in, bets are on as to what crazy shenanigans the threesome get up to on the next stops of their national tour.
