This gig must have broken a record. The Messengers single launch brought the biggest crowd to Cherry Bar that I have ever seen there.
To begin, this night was kicked off by The Thod. Now these guys have been doing the rounds for quite a few years, yet hadn’t played a show since last summer, and seeing them live again was nostalgic, the perfect choice to support The Messengers, Dirt Farmer, and Immigrant Union.
Whilst mingling with numerous punters before the show it appeared that The Thod had pulled a very impressive crowd for an 8:30pm slot. When The Thod started their set, it was quickly apparent they weren’t going to surprise any of us with new tracks, instead, sticking to their usual set of songs from their albums, Album Précis and Welcome To Thod Country, along with crowd favourites. After a few classic tracks, they pulled out “Caltex”. This track is usually sung but the one and only Dan McDonald, yet seeing as he made a dramatic departure from the band at the very beginning of 2011, it was up to the incredibly talented drummer, Aidan McDonald to take over the vocals for this much loved song.
Jayden Kenny lead the poncho-wearing band through a nostalgic and incredible set of, what it has often been called, “cultish goon-bag rock” epics, as the early crowd danced till they came close to passing out.
Dirt Farmer quickly picked up where The Thod left off, keeping the growing crowd amped. “Silhouette Boy” was their first track, instantly getting the crowd tapping along. I was unsure of what to expect as I had not seen them live before, and had only ever heard their track “Johnny Marble”, however I was pleasantly surprised, nay, euphoric at seeing this set.
Personal highlight was “Jackets” which lead into the obvious crowd favourite “Johnny Marble”, and finally they finished up with the even more upbeat songs – “Honey” and “The Party Song”. The Dirt Farmer boys put together a very impressive set, without even flinching when the pedals lost power and harmonica reeds were broken. They are true performers.
By this stage of the night the crowd had consumed an impressive amount of Jagermeister and beer and were getting quite rowdy as Immigrant Union were setting up. These guys are an unbelievable local super group, and with their token Dandy Warhol, their shows really pack a punch. It couldn’t have been a better place to see these guys play then at the same bar where they first met.
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Cherry is Immigrant Union’s stomping ground, and they seemed right at home. The group played a very tight set, and leader of the pack, Bob Harrow, from The Lazy Sons, was particularity brilliant. The set was opened with their track “Wrong”, then lead into “Dark Shadow”, “End Has Come”, and “Makoan”, then transitioning into “In Time” which was a mesmerising highlight; the room couldn’t help but dance. The five-piece finished off with “You Win”, and I was disappointed there wasn’t any more.
Then it happened. Cherry was full. Completely packed to the rafters. The only view I could get was standing up on the side benches and trying very hard to remain balanced and not fall onto the mountain of drums and guitars at my feet. The Messengers kicked it off with live favourites, “We Can’t Get Along”, “With Another Man”, and “Crazy Feeling”. “Dear Belle” is The Messengers go at a ballad, and they hit the nail on the head with this stunning Beatles-esque track.
Suddenly they gave us a welcome surprise as some members from the legendary Cherry Bar band, Saskwatch, jumped up on stage to help perform the track, and the reason we were all there, “Baby (Won’t you come back into my life)”.
This is when everyone at Cherry Bar lost their shit. The Messengers are true and undeniable musicians and their presence on stage is breathtaking, so much so that after they played “Whiskey” I had to run outside to get fresh air as I was close to passing out from dancing far too much.
This was easily the best local gig of 2011 and there is no excuse to not go and see all of these bands as many times as possible live.
– Tegan Ringin
