Young & Restless, Dardanelles, The Galvatrons, Cassette Kids, Flamingo Crash, Reptiles - The Corner

Whoever named tonight’s event ‘Uh Huh’ should be given a gentle slap round the face for concocting such an uninspiring name for such an inspiring line up. The Corner is sadly sparser than expected tonight but those of us present are up for a full on (especially with no mind numbingly annoying and boring lengthy sound checks) night of cutting edge Rock and Roll in the company of some of the hottest and most vibrant bands in the Country.

Reptiles are a big fuzzy mess, lank and greasy hair covers front man Em’s face as he growls indiscernible vocals over distortion laden guitar and bass lines. The crowd are already down the front of The Corner’s smaller stage slowly finding their dancing feet and oiling work weary joints with alcohol.

After a refreshingly short interlude the much-hyped Galvatrons take to the stage and open their Hair Metal set with a song about robots to a sea of amused and confused faces. Are they for real? Are they serious? Some much needed and essential heavy guitar is lacking in tonight’s bass heavy mix but with a keyboard sound that continually gives the impression the band are about to launch into a Van Halen song and several ‘Emo-lite’ songs (such as forthcoming EP lead track ‘When we were Kids’) the band are probably set for vast commercial success and to hark the dawning of a comeback for 80’s Metal (Shudder).

Back to the other stage where Cassette Kids change the mood completely with a brilliant set of energetic, passionate and ingeniously arranged songs. Jacob is the most solid drummer you’ll find this side of a drum machine, The two Daniels on bass and guitar conjure completely unique and amazing sounds out of their instruments whilst Katrina stalks the stage delivering her vocals in a fit of passion so intense she nearly disrobes herself in the process.

Dardanelles pull off yet another amazing set improving more with every performance, tonight the band are not only slick and tight, they also seem incredibly happy and composed, passing the feeling on to their audience and generating a chilled calm and serenity in the venue that results in an en-masse demand for an encore that sadly has to be refused.

At this stage in proceedings Flamingo Crash have a tremendous amount of momentum to maintain and despite a solid set of skilfully played amiable pop songs, an awesome moustachioed front man and a tremendous amount of guts the band don’t quite manage to pull off the unfortunate responsibility placed upon their shoulders as audience members shuffle their feet and check their watches in anticipation of tonight’s headliners.

Young and Restless is the perfect band to headline such a night of musical magnificence, possessing constituent parts of all the bands on tonight’s bill. Passionate live performances, awesome guitar sounds and a great attitude to what they do and how to treat an audience, a great end to an amazing night and a true testament to contemporary Australian music.

Published in Inpress