On the eve of Cherry Rock, German headliners Kadavar put on a special sideshow at the Corner. The room was partly curtained off and one bar was closed, making the Corner even more intimate than usual. There were only a few heads in early, making one think that most people were holding out for Kadavar at Cherry Rock, but by the end of opening band Elbrus it had started to fill up. After Elbrus came the spatial soundscapes of Perth’s Mt. Mountain. The five-piece were sleepy yet captivating. With vocals coming from organ player Stephen Bailey on the side of stage, there was no central figure to watch, so you were better off closing your eyes and drifting away.
Child woke the crowd up with their more immediate, blues-heavy sound. They seem to be the go-to support for any stoner-ish band that comes to town. Singer/guitarist Mathias Northway’s greeting, “Hi, we are Child. We’ve been here before,” came across as a little conceited. This was quickly followed by three false starts caused by technical problems. Despite this off-putting beginning, the trio soon hit their stride. New bassist Danny Smith ripped it up. Apparently an epic beard as well as serious bass chops is a prerequisite to play bass for Child. These guys have a smooth ’70s sound that’s easy to like, but they rarely depart from their formula. After seeing them once you could say, “I’ve seen this before.”
While also summoning sounds from an era full of fuzz and free-love, Berlin trio Kadavar were far from derivative. Excitement surrounded drummer Christoph “Tiger” Bartelt, who looked like an unemployed Ron Burgundy, but was a beast on the skins. He was throwing his arms around and striking in circular motion like a frantic composer. He was dressed in a see-through leopard skin skivvy, and the wind machine blowing his hair up from behind was an incredible addition. Next to this enigma stood bassist Simon “Dragon” Bouteloup, leering silently from near seven feet up. If Kadavar doesn’t work out for him, he could easily be St. Kilda’s third ruckman.
The powerful rhythm section allowed guitarist and vocalist Christoph “Lupus” Lindemann to riff, squeal and wail. Stolen Dreams, followed by the epic Doomsday Machine, had the head’s at the front thrashing, and hips shaking further back. Lupus charmed the crowd with his humble demeanour. The last time they came to Australia was in 2013. “It’s great to be back. Let’s have a party tonight,” he said through tonnes of woolly blonde hair. And it was a party. No-one, including Kadavar, was saving themselves for CherryRock.
The setlist rolled on well into the night. The chant of “One more song” rang out as they left the stage briefly, only to come back and play three more: Thousand Miles Away From Home, All Our Thoughts and Come Back Life. When the red curtain eventually closed, heads were picked up off the floor as many looked forward to doing it all again the next day.
BY JAMES RIDLEY
LOVED: The wild, hairy spectacle of drummer Christoph “Tiger” Bartelt.
HATED: The realisation you’ll never be as cool as this psychedelic rock trio from Berlin.
DRANK: Coopers Pale stubbies.
