The Railway Hotel
Saturday, January 24, 2015
The crowd was chilled and the night was sweet for the North Freo Pub Crawl, with five stages of acts over two venues consisting of a variety of local music talent. It was the perfect evening for a few beverages and some wicked live music and the beers were flowing freely as the sun set.
First up at The Railway Hotel indoor stage were Dead End Brawler, the product of a culmination of members of Paltiva and Nevsky Prospekt, who kicked off the stage with a heavy, grungy sound, offset well by smooth vocals.
Up next were Moana, whose punky and vaguely poppy notions seemed to get the crowd amped up and ready for a lairy one. Tones clanged and skilfully rhythmic vocals quietly hummed to create a vaguely chaotic feeling, but the engaging pace and pounding drums
On the outside stage, Methyl Ethyl started their sweet music and drew people out into the cool. Their song writing style is exploitative and thoughtful and it was easy to drift off while listening to their gently progressions and tasty harmonies.
Back at the main room, Apache jumped to the stage and brought their classic heavy surf tunes to the plate. Filtered vocals and driving guitar lines kept the pace rising as the punters started getting into gear.
The Painkillers were up next with their classic rock style, and their precision and cohesion kept the vibe going. Classic tones and hooks kept the audience moving and the night was feeling alive.
Back outside, The Weapon Is Sound came through with a killer set of bluesy dub reggae tracks and a request for intimacy from the lead singer early on set a great tone and the crowd was quickly dancing. Always a fantastic show with these masters of the genre and all round dudes.
The final band on the main stage were Gunns, coming through with their cool washed out sound. Layers of reverb and delay bounced off crystalline vocals and the crowd were in full swing. This was a perfect end to the main area and although there were only two venues in the pub crawl, the punters were drinking enough to keep up.
While I didn’t get a chance to visit The Swan Hotel Venue, the lineup was solid throughout with a variety of genres from around Perth represented. This event has been running for a few years now and from the response of the crowd and a general loyalty to the gig, should continue for many years to come. A great outlet for Perth’s fine talent.
JAMES HANLON
