On Friday night, Spectrum – the venue – and bands Red Jezebel, The Retreat and The Philadelphia Grand Jury attracted an audience who for the most part looked like they were faux rock stars- an interesting one for a chilly, Sydney night.
It was then odd to see the sartorial change that trio and opening act, The Philadelphia Grand Jury brought to the stage. They boasted a hooded and bespectacled musician who constantly alternated instruments and whose stage persona was reminiscent of John Entwistle- as he played it straight and serious. He was the antithesis of the band’s energetic drummer who seemed as cheery as Ringo Starr and as active as Keith Moon. Meanwhile, singer, Berkfinger, who was clad in a trench coat, looked like a pseudo-detective. If he were investigating a crime, it would have to be that only a tiny handful of punters were present to witness their act.
The music had an immediate infectiousness, no doubt propelled by the toe-tapping beats of the lively drums. They resembled The White Stripes at times with their dirty guitar licks. Plus, the group’s vocals shared the screaming, urgent quality of howlin’ Pete Almqvist, hinting at The Hives own brusque rock. The songs performed included I Don’t Want To Party and The Good News- the latter a self-confessed massive hit in the making.
At times engagement with the audience was severely lacking which was a shame, as the songs certainly had all the necessary ingredients to make them great conduits for audience participation. The problem here arose because the group used a pre-recorded voiceover track to speak to the crowd as a means of introducing the songs. At first this was an amusing novelty but after a while it seemed to build a large barrier between the musicians and the audience.
The second act was by quintet, The Retreat, who seemed to bring some extra patrons to the venue, mainly in the form of faithful friends and family members. Unfortunately, the group took far too long setting up the drums. After what seemed like an eternity – time that didn’t necessarily translate into better sounds – they finally started their shortish slot with some solo electric guitar and raspy vocals. The guitars seemed to alternate between a country-esque twang and high-pitched riffs in the range of The Strokes’ sound.
The group received a warm response from the crowd who appreciated their rocking ditties and in particular, their closing track which hinted at Britpop styles and in particular, The Wombats.
They performed the song, Good Place and overall, the tracks were beautifully punctuated by the sweet keyboard work of Kellie Banyai, allowing some of the music to acquire an almost childish, exuberant quality.
Next it was time for the headliners, Red Jezebel- although a casual observer may not have realised this, as many of the audience members who had watched the previous group left prior to the Perth darlings even commencing their set. It was their loss because they missed an absolute treat from the Jezzies who performed their eclectic and varied rock tunes with great showmanship- almost as if they were playing to a throng of thousands rather than the somewhat apathetic audience that remained.
They opened with Lost My Gun and harmonies that were a little shaky to begin, but it didn’t take long for the group to fall into a cohesive combination with guitarist Dave Parkin echoing singer/guitarist Paul Wood to a tee.
The set list was mainly made up of songs from their sophomore album, How I Learnt To Stop Worrying, and included: I’m A Sucker A Doormat; Amsterdam; and the gorgeous, reflective tome, More Than You’ll Ever Know. These worked well amongst older tracks: Devil’s Advocate and You’re Making Me Nervous. The latter featured some cyclical drumbeats, sped-up vocals and a spoken word outro. Here, the vocals were akin to the style of Fred Schneider from The B52s. Meanwhile, new single, Find Our Way Back Home, was a sultry, Old West tale that was highly pleasurable, despite a false start.
What was really apparent about Red Jezebel’s set was that you were entertained by a bunch of four guys – nay, friends – who genuinely enjoy performing. It is a rare feat to see every musician in a group honestly smile, laugh and simply relish performing and that’s exactly what the crowd were offered. Plus, they executed their songs in their own playful style. For example, drummer, Alex Hyman, added some extra drum bits between songs to either segue into the next one; simply entertain himself or mess with Wood whilst he tuned. Moreover, bassist, Mark Cruickshank flounced around the stage like a bouncing ball playfully picking his next target- most notably, the speaker stacks or Wood and Parkin who had to laugh at the cheeky rapscallion.
The set came to a blistering climax with crowd favourites, Kicking Deadly Sins and Trust In Us with some people showing their appreciation by dancing along and mirroring the band’s spirited acrobatics on stage. The group left the crowd in a fuzzy haze of reverb, leaving our rock appetites warmly sated as we entered the cold, winter night.
