The Caballeros, Liam Naughton and The Educators, Moon Puppy, Bonsai Beast
Badlands Bar
Friday, October 14, 2016
A band that’s been rocking around Perth, and the country, for almost 5 years now, Vida Cain launched their second album Yeah Nah at Badlands on Friday, kicking out the jams to a good sized crowd that filled out the cavernous venue, on hopefully one of the last cold and wet spring nights we’ll see.
Since springing up in the old Deville’s Pad building, leaving a lot the same, but adding many improvements, Badlands has done well to quickly establish itself on the live music map with a solid lineup every weekend, and this was no exception, with the Vida Cain boys pulling out all the stops to put on a big show and inviting along a bunch of mates to mark the occasion.
Braving the weather, Melbourne duo Bonsai Beast played early in the beer garden, before people moved inside to enjoy the sounds of Big Splash finalists Moon Puppy and Liam Mc Naughton and The Educators, who kicked things off in style.
By the time The Caballeros came on, people were in the mood to shake, and that’s exactly what the Caballeros do best – get people shaking! The band have an infectious energy, rocking out, dapperly dressed in white shirts and black ties. Lead singer Jake England is a wildman, throwing himself around the stage with relentless enthusiasm, as well as on the dancefloor and into the crowd, as he screamed into his big ol’ fashioned microphone.
Sounding something like a clash between the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion and The Hives, the 5-piece lock into that raw, rootsy, riffing rock ‘n’ roll, that’s hard not to get caught up in. Having finally released their debut album earlier this year – the boys gave us a taste of their repertoire, including Call The Doctor and their signature tune The Caballeros Twist, before belting out a cover of Twist & Shout. Classic rock ‘n’ roll antics.
But the night belonged to Vida Cain and the room filled up in anticipation, and people made their way to the front of the sunken dancefloor. Chief singer, songwriter and guitarist Josh Johnstone is an accomplished stalwart of the scene and has played in many bands over the years. Earlier this year he released a debut album under his own name, that focussed on his more acoustic, melodic, balladesque side – but with Vida Cain, the Fender’s plugged in, turned up and it’s very much a rock ‘n’ roll riff-fest – though Johnstone’s penchant for solid songwriting and melody still shines through.
The band cryptic name is in fact that of Johnstone’s grandmother, and they’ve released an EP and an LP before this one, so have an ample back catalogue. Though being an album launch, it was to be expected we’d be treated to a hefty dose of Yeah Nah – and in fact, they played just about all of it, kicking off the set with the first six tracks from the album in order.
Ignite was a great opener with its hammering riff and Fear Watcha Don’t Say is a great little tune with a classic, catchy chorus that’s radio ready. What strikes you immediately is how tight the band are and how comfortable they are playing – this is a polished outfit. The bass player kept things locked down tight with the drummer, really working his impressive 5-string guitar, while Johnstone locked in with lead guitarist Chris Rowe providing edgey, distorted riffs for him to wail over.
The vocals are delivered with measured precision – Johnstone has a smooth delivery, while putting enough passion into it to give it a rough edge, exemplified on Blunt Razor.
Aliens provided a bit of a respite to the pace with its more twiddly guitar work and philosophical musings, before one of the single’s from the first album, Remote Controls was belted out – as it’s rip roaring riff faded out, a familiar sounding bass line kicked in. What was this? Surely not! But indeed it was – outta nowhere they hit us with an unexpected cover – launching into Rage Against The Machine’s classic anthem Killing In The Name! And belt it out they did, with a surprisingly heavy rendition and fittingly explosive light show that saw the crowd go wild.
Leaving the stage to much applause, The Caballeros frontman was back to ask if we wanted more, which lead to an amusing chant of “Yeah Nah!” It’s hard to top that finale, but the boys did return to play the title track off their first EP, and one of their best, The Rule of Gravity to finish the night in style.
ALFRED GORMAN
Photos by Alfred Gorman
