For three quarters of their existence Twin Beasts were known as The Toot Toot Toots. Whichever you view as the stronger or more suitable name, it’s under the earlier designation that much of the band’s avid fanbase first became besotted. Following last weekend’s sold-out send off at The Tote, tonight the Melbourne fivesome reassumed The Toot Toot Toots moniker for an encore final show. Practically speaking, names no longer counted for much, but in a crammed-full Old Bar sentiment was able to make one last howl of adoration.
The glory days of the Melbourne quintet are difficult to pin down. As The Toot Toot Toots they released the Curse the Crow EP and the debut long player Outlaws. However, the band’s most evolved outing is the Twin Beasts-introducing Badlove LP – the clearest display of their sometimes deranged, sometimes grandiose psyche.
Either way, in spite of the obvious air of finitude, there was little time for reflection. Sure, this is a band of songwriters, proficient and canny musicians, guys who’ve developed a tasteful approach to re-instating formerly successful musical advents. But more boldly, what The Toot Toot Toots guarantee is a damn good time. Led by the outward eccentricity of dual frontmen Giuliano Ferla and Dan Hawkins, right from the entry music of brassy melodrama, The Old Bar withstood a messy union of enthralled devotees.
Eccentricity could be read as gimmickry – an obvious ploy to paint yourselves as zany characters. But in this case it’s an expressive tool. The Toot Toot Toots align themselves with narrative songcraft, projecting tales of unusual individuals committing acts of transgression, backed by crunching country rock grit and a keen grasp of a drunken sing-along.
It was fitting, then, for them to go out like this, in a room of over-boozed and eccentrically charged up friends and fans. As the end drew nearer, the pirate-jawed choruses became louder and louder. To say it’ll be sad to see them go would be missing the point. What matters is that while they were here, they made every step worth it.
BY AUGUSTUS WELBY
Photo by Ian Laidlaw
Loved: Crazy eyes Ferla.
Hated: Claustrophobia
Drank: Off the floor.
