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Bloody Aussies! Selling their shit up back home, coming over here, teaching us poms a lesson in work ethics, and putting their money where their mouth is! How dare they? Don’t they know that this is Britain? home of the “sorry mate can’t possibly do that” attitude. In return we’ve packed up the cast of Geordie Shore and Jeremy Kyle and shipped them over to Oz, that will teach the bloody buggers. Two of the three bands on offer choosing to relocate to these shore for the foreseeable future, all in the name of rock ‘n’ roll, so it seems, fuelled by Strongbow and Carlsberg. The “Aussie Wrecking Crew” tour is certainly a suitable name to describe the blitzkrieg rolling through the UK countryside, before Massive, Tequila Mockingbyrd, and Black Aces reconvene at this year’s Hard Rock Hell festival in November.
It was the turn of Black Aces to open proceedings tonight, and before they take the stage, lead guitarist and vocalist, Tyler Kinder has obviously stuck his finger in an electrical socket, or stood barefoot on a piece of lego. He was like a man possessed, as he raced around the small stage, throttling his Gibson SG to within an inch of its life. He made sure that everyone in attendance is paying attention. If you weren’t, then look out, as he jumped down from the stage, around the barrier, and ran round the crowd, as he wailed on his guitar, before the walkabout ended atop the bar, with his guitar raised to the rafters. Now, some might say “doesn’t Joel O’Keeffe from Airbourne do something similar?” and the answer would be yes, he does, who gives a toss, it’s fun and exhilarating to witness. The guys from Bendigo are the only one of the three bands not handing in their BBQ lighters at customs, as they are heading back home for a short while. It’s obvious that they are here to not only make an impression, but to also (and crucially) have some fun. It’s rock ‘n’ roll played the way that Aussies do best… fast, simple, and as infectious as one of the many nasty bastard insects that inhabit the outback. Debut album, “Shot In The Dark” is full of delicious slices of prime, sweaty boogie, like the title track and “Sick As A Dog”, and is now currently pride of place on my car stereo. Besides, how can you not like a band where the über cool bassist throws a few verses of Ted Nugent’s “Stranglehold” into the mix?.
Next up were Tequila Mockingbyrd, an altogether different proposition from the boys in Black Aces. The girls from Melbourne play straight up rock ‘n’ roll minus the AC/DC inspired boogie. The chords are bit more punkier (especially on “Everyone Down”), but the beating heart of the band is adrenaline-fuelled rock ‘n’ roll from down under. With forty minutes to make their mark, the band rattle their way through the majority of their “Fight and Flight” album, available at the merch desk if one gets the urge. “This Ain’t Dead” was one of the highlights. Slower and sludgier, it has a crushing sound, that has the hardcore fans on the barrier heads bobbing. “Somebody Put Something In My Drink” was much faster, and one of the many songs which featured Josie O’Toole battering the living hell out of her drumkit. So much so, that she smashed right through the snare, and had to quickly change it over, but not before gleefully holding it up for all to see, like a demented executioner, holding up the severed head of her latest victim. Small, she may be, but she can certainly hit way harder than many twice her size. “Never Go Home” is pretty apt, as the band have sold up, and are living out of a van in pursuit of the rock ‘n’ roll dream. There’s a nice Joan Jett style clap-a-long mid section, on a song which is way harder played live. “I Smell Rock N’ Roll” brought the short set to an end, and the band exited the stage with some new fans tucked away in their back pockets.
