Hideous Sun Demon/Pat Chow/FOAM/Ricky Maymi
Mojos Bar
Friday, August 22
Keeping in the Fremantle tradition of great music and the generous application of more benign forms of recreational substance abuse, Mojos Bar became the sonic epicentre of local they’re-really-cool-but-I-liked-them-before-you rockers, Apache, and the launch of their cacophonous new single, Vultures, to a completely sold-out venue.
Big Splash winners, Hideous Sun Demon, took time away from rolling naked in their giant pile of prize money to perform a set of dark, frantic punk. The epileptic, drawling stage presence of frontman, Vincent Buchanon, smiled as he sung over shrill guitar lines pumping jumping the notes and a distorted wall of sound augmented by washy, cymbal-driven rock beats from songs like Glue. The band radiated charisma that washed over the already swelling early bird crowd.
Pat Chow were next up, kicking off with the Mersey Beat driven song, Outside. Growling vocals rumbled on nightmare grunge tracks of Big Muff guitars and rumbling bass lines. The band’s songwriting built enthralling vocal melodies over muddy, understated instrumentation, though the band did find themselves the victim of a glitch vocal fallback that occasionally threw off frontman, Ben Protasiewicz, as well as causing the vocal harmonies of bassist, Andrew Meredith to be flat.
Three-piece, dissonant, garage grunge act, FOAM, moved away from the dark sonic textures of the night’s earlier acts and brought something rougher and more rustic to the stage. Frontman, Joel Martin, had a vocal style reminiscent of the great, howling frontmen of ‘90s grunge, powering through repeating vocal hooks that fit well over the simple, well-crafted riffs the band churned out – though timing tended to wax and wane. By now, the venue had completely sold out and punters were being turned back into the cold night, with nothing but a gourmet hotdog stand to console their efforts.
Headline act, Apache, returned from their songwriting hiatus to give the full rock star experience to a packed crowd with the chunky rhythm guitar of Jake Chaloner backing up the howling lead melodies of Lee Napper, which merged seamlessly with the vocal style of Timothy Gordon. The set was big and commanding, with new single, Vultures, causing the audience to erupt within crowded confines of Mojos’ interior, in a fit of crowd-surfing fervour. The band were able to transition through different styles well, shifting seamlessly between more aggressive numbers, such as Just A Little Bit, to smoother, catchier tunes.
As the night closed up with a DJ set from Ricky Maymi (of Brian Jonestown Massacre fame), fans hung around well past midnight before dispersing to single launch after parties to continue the debauchery.
SHAUN COWE
