2020 started with a bang at The Civic as the organisers who brought us the inaugural & hugely successful 2019 Perth Rocks Festival were back with a smaller but equally mouth-watering event dubbed Perth Rocks: Summer Nights with another wonderfully diverse but entertaining line-up, some of which we had the pleasure of seeing back in July at the main festival and once again brought together by Karl Infirri. Held in the intimate setting of ‘The Den’, which is quickly gaining a reputation for its live events, aided by the effervescent & passionate Matt Hatton, eight bands were split between the ‘main stage’ & ‘floor stage’.
Kicking off at 6pm sharp on the Floor Stage, opening act Antidote faced the daunting tasking of kicking off the day but they played through their seven-song set with confidence. The three-piece glam rockers, led by lead vocalist & bassist Jeremy Moore and backed up by Peter Mead (guitar) & Connor James (drums) take their inspirations from those classic 80’s hair metal & rock bands like Guns n Roses & Van Halen, as they worked the slowing growing crowd with original songs like ‘Big Brain’, ‘Ginger’ & a solid cover of Twisted Sister’s ‘I Wanna Rock’ before closing with ‘Fairytale Creature’.
The Den’s main room has a fabulous feel to it and the first band to grace this part of the venue was Incomplete, who like to play it loud & hard. It’s always nice to find a band who won’t be pigeon-holed in just one genre and Incomplete are a great example of that – their sound can fit punk, metal or rock n’ roll events with ease. Front man Jamie J. Buchanan (guitar& vocals) lifted the energy levels in The Den as they punched through their allotted timeslot with tracks like ‘Cheapskate’ taken from their 2018 self-titled album, as well as a fantastic version of Motorhead’s ‘Ace of Spades’. Peter-James Moulton (drums/vocals), Ryan Popa (bass/vocals) & Mark Rodrigues (guitar/vocals) complete Incomplete.
I’d been waiting to see Command A Panda for a while now as I’d heard so many good things – I wasn’t to be disappointed, as the Perth two-piece impressed with their big sound and once again they are a band who can’t be put in one category or genre with their dirty rock n’ roll with a hint of surf punk n’ blues (see what I mean). Matt Hort (guitar/vocals) & Adam Moore (drums/vocals) make full use of the chemistry they create and watching Hort move between microphones to create vocal effects is refreshing to say the least. Their songs were short, sharp & tight as well as wonderfully energetic, with the highlight of the set for me being ‘One & Only Love’. I look forward to seeing these guys again soon so I can get more familiarised with their material. One of my bands of the day!
Sadly, I missed much of the next set due to unfortunate circumstances (sorry guys – will make it up to you) but another band with an increasingly growing reputation is Here Comes The Rooster. What I did see left me wanting more, as they thrilled a now bustling crowd with vocalist John Sears, bassist Chris Casella, lead guitarist Triston Mamotte & drummer Chris Dudley all enjoying the vibe of The Den’s main stage.
Back in July last year, Ultra Sound had the privilege of opening the inaugural festival and this time the rocking four-piece got to enjoy themselves settled in the middle of proceedings on the floor stage with Shane Johnstone, adorned in trademark hat & flying googles leading the way, as the band performed a solid nine-song set kicking off with ‘Skin Crawl’. With influences as far apart as Duran Duran & Ozzy Osbourne through to KISS & The Beach Boys, it’s always an interesting collection of songs from these guys, with Guns n’ Roses ‘Double Talkin Jive’ & Gary Moore’s ‘Cold Day in Hell’ two of the stand out songs of their live offerings. Stevie D (guitars/backing vocals), Steve Langford (drums) & Dave Cooper (bass/backing vocals) stood alongside Johnstone to ensure Ultra Sound kept their foot on the day’s rock n’ roll gas pedal.
When there are so many experienced & high quality artists on one event bill, it always encourages the newer or younger bands to make sure they deliver and this certainly was the case with the outstanding Ezra Tide. The four-piece rock band with a 70s look & vibe have that same wonderful sound that Melbourne’s Palace of the King have and is one of the reasons I enjoyed their set so much. I was surprised when I heard that they have only been together a year and I can see 2020 being a big year for them. Lead guitarist Kia Williamson looked like he had been ripped straight off the stage at Woodstock, with long hair flowing & his open fronted patterned shirt draping over his vintage Gibson SG, while lead vocalist Nick Gray conversed & controlled the audience with relaxed confidence. Ezra Tide kicked things off with ‘Love Letters’ before playing seven more well delivered songs including a great cover of Hendrix’s ‘Voodoo Child’ and finishing with their first single ‘Bad Thoughts’, which was released last year. Bassist Finn Pearson grooved & moved throughout the set, while Jace Daniel took control of the tempo with his solid drum work. Tight, hypnotic & my ‘Band of the Day’, make sure you keep an eye out for Ezra Tide – Wonderful stuff!
There’s not much I can say about The Silent Deeds that I haven’t already said before, as they still impress each & every time I see them live and have been one Perth’s rising bands for a while now. After a busy 2019 which saw them playing Perth Rocks Festival, the WAFL Grand Final at Optus Stadium and joining The Rockpit in both Perth & Melbourne for the 10th Anniversary shows, as well as releasing one of their best songs to date in ‘The Race’, the three piece funk-rockers have been busy working on new material which I was excited to hear tonight. The first of the night was a new one, ‘Breaking Walls’ and although it was a little loose it was still refreshing to hear the new material. They soon tightened up to deliver a solid collection of songs with the usual feel good, enjoyable & energetic rock with tracks like ‘Come Alive’ still sounding fresh. Bassist Matt Debarro must have clocked up some kilometres again tonight as he bounced & moved continually throughout, while guitarist Corey Ranger delivered his lyrics with vocal ease, especially on the other new songs ‘Silent Night’ & ‘Ghost’, which were also showcased tonight. Both were solid additions to The Silent Deeds already strengthening arsenal and with the guys hoping to get in the studio soon to lay down some more material, 2020 should be another positive year.
The final band of the night needed no introduction but they’ll get one anyway. If you want to see a high quality, powerful hard rock outfit here in Australia then you don’t need to go any further than going to watch & listen to Amberdown. Usually first to turn up to an event & last to leave, the guys play hard, drink harder and throw everything they have at their set. Tonight was no exception as they guys delivered eleven songs of the finest hard rock and with a wide range of influences to draw from it’s always a set to enjoy. With the majority of the material coming from their successful 2019 album ‘Four Years’, Daniel Connell (guitars/vocals) & Jason Glatzer (guitars/vocals) led the band through tracks like ‘Say You Will’, ‘Lifeless’, ‘Rectitude’ & the outstanding ‘Hole in the Flaw’ with backing from the excellent & ever powerful rhythm section of Jeremy ‘Thor’ Young (bass/vocals) & Marc Lennon (drums). A fine & fitting end to a great evening.
The ringing in my ears grew louder as the amps & speakers were finally switched off and it quickly became apparent that Perth Rocks: Summer Nights was another success, although we still need rock fans to get out to support these events as much as possible – there was a solid turn out but room for more, so please folks, get out to support local venues & bands. Organisers are working hard to put these events on and Perth has a fantastic collection of hard rock, indie, metal & blues artists who just need people to give them a chance. This show was a mere $20 to see eight quality local bands, so at $2.50 per band you just can’t go wrong.
PHOTO GALLERY
Photos by Julian Neil
