The Croxton Bandroom was larger than expected, like The Corner without the pole, and loud. Three-piece support band All The Colours were testing the limits of the PA early. With a sound reminiscent of early Muse, their tight black jeans squeezed out some high-pitched harmonies. Their cover of Van Morrison’s Baby Please Don’t Go was the highlight.
The big black curtain was closed, it opened, it closed again. Then it opened. And hey, there were EODM. This haphazard entrance foreshadowed the circus to come. A ginger moustached Hughes, with his trademark key dangling from his right ear, cheekily confessed they were all “loaded,” but because they were among friends it was better to “let it all hang out.” Much of the crowd looked to be in the same state anyway. Forgetting to swap guitars, the drummer starting the wrong song, missing vocal lines – no worries, it was party time. Who cares about dotting t’s and crossing i’s anyway. Lucky the devilish ‘Boots Electric’ is so loveable.
The set started with I Only Want You, as EODM rollicked through a mix of new and old material. The women in attendance were constantly saluted throughout the night, Hughes making sure no-one was being too rough down the front. One young woman held up a French flag. Hughes saw it and soon after asked the room to stop for a moments silence in respect for the Paris tragedy. Complexity from their 2015 album Zipper Down and boogie-tastic sing-a-long favourites So Easy, Whorehoppin’ (Shit, Goddam), I Want You So Hard (Boy’s Bad News) and Cherry Cola kept the party swingin’.
Hughes’ knowledge of Tim Tams and other Australian treats won over many fans and we believed him when he said he wanted to be in Melbourne before playing Wanna Be In L.A. Lego-haired bass player Matt McJunkins laughed along with the running joke as Hughes kept demanding he eat 8,000 Mint Slices after the show. Despite their over-the-top cheesy ponce and tongue-in-cheek shenanigans, Eagles Of Death Metal bring a big show. Dave Catching, whose sizeable white beard and black sunnies look like he could be ZZ Top’s unofficial third member, is a fiend on guitar. Hughes constantly proclaimed his love for the man who he said was recently promoted to “second in the band’s hierarchy.”
Momentum was momentarily lost as Hughes took to the stage alone with a guitar for an encore including Stones classic Brown Sugar. The other members resurfaced and more disordered solos ensued, however EODM finished off strong with Speaking In Tongues and all was good with the world once more. Love and rock’n’roll shall overcome ‘n all that.
BY JAMES RIDLEY
LOVED: Boogyin’ in the face of terrorism.
HATED: The slow queue caused by the extra security and metal detectors.
DRANK: MB pints.
