Swamp rockers Local Coward ripped through their set. Kate Alexander spat vitriol in So Sick Of Your Voice, and Jess Zubkevych’s guitar skills were kickarse. SpinningRooms sound is an aberration. Saxophone caterwaulled like some Mephistophelian daemon from a Lovecraft dimension.
A low rumbling signalled the arrival of The Peep Tempel. The sold out Corner was well sauced by this stage and filled with an agitated anticipation. The band opened their set with the anarchic Kalgoorlie before serving up an earnest rendition of Totality. They have a monolithic sound for a trio; at times jagged and wiry, and always overblown (a good thing). It’s punk rock that takes its cues from The Cosmic Psychos, X, and Feedtime.
Throughout the night Blake Scott’s affected vocal delivery communicated a confronting portrayal of the Aussie culture and psyche. He inhabited every word, every persona. His distinctly Australian characterisations never belittled, mocked, or assigned blame for despondency. Rather, he encouraged the crowd to empathise with his creations. Nowhere was this more evident than on the track Constable, the tale of a local bobby turned crooked cop – Blake’s genius was positioning the listener so that they couldn’t help but feel sorry for this unsavoury character.
Predictably, things reached fever pitch during Carol. There’s crowd-surfing, fist punching and the room sang along. Among the enthusiastic crowd, a few inebriated drongos did get carried away. This caused the group to stop mid-song to break up a bit of argy-bargy, which they did effectively and professionally, and then it was straight back to business.
The night came to an abrupt close due to what Blake said was a fire onstage. However, this wasn’t before the band briefly dropped that larrikin persona to give a heartfelt, gracious shout out to all their fans and the people who have helped them along the way to releasing Joy.
Words by George Hyde
Image by Ian Laidlaw
Highlight: Constable and shout outs to Sharon Jones and Leonard Cohen.
Lowlight: Drunk biffo.
Crowd Favourite: “…and I don’t think Trevor is good for you , Carol.”
