With the inaugural Sugarloaf Rock Festival fast approaching, Perth had the pleasure of Wolfmother performing a couple of smaller ‘sideshows’ before headed down south to the Margaret River Region, the first being at one of Fremantle’s hottest venues, Freo.Social and the second a bit further north at Bar1, Hillary’s Boat Harbour, both of which managed to sell-out, such was the rare opportunity to witness one of Australia’s best blues rock acts in a smaller more intimate setting.
Both shows were supported by two of WA’s finest, with all girl rockers Legs Electric taking care of things in outstanding fashion in Fremantle, while Maverick Firebird showed they were more than up to the task at a busy & bustling Hillary’s. The later starting times allowed for a near-full venue by the time the Perth four-piece strode onto the stage at 8.45pm, as they launched headlong into their seven-song set, comprising of tracks from their wonderful debut album ‘Firebird’.
Kicking off with ‘Free’, the band proved their catchy Southern Blues Rock style perfectly suited the headline act, as lead vocalist Craig Jovanovic coaxed onlookers to the front of the stage, they continued on with ‘Great Northern Highway’. The band have had a reshuffle in recent times, with Jovanovic & fellow band original, bass player Simon Hallett are now joined by Michael Menna (guitar) & Royce Mack (drums) and it’s obvious the group have an excellent on-stage chemistry and this was evident as they pushed on with ‘Black Voodoo’ & ‘Obsession’, with Menna getting to show his playing skills, his style reminiscent of a young Slash, with his low-slung Gibson almost scrapping the floor at times.
‘Break Me’ & ‘The Road’ kept the crowd on their toes before the band signed off with ‘Silent Scream’, as Maverick Firebird left the stage to a great reception, having readied the now capacity audience for the main event. This was a solid set built around a good song choice, although a couple of the instrumental sections did lose the attention of the alcohol-fuelled crowd slightly, as they were maybe slightly longer than necessary – I would have preferred these trimmed back so they could have showcased another of their fantastic songs, such is the strength of their material. Keep an eye out for Maverick Firebird and if they are on a line-up near you then get down to see them.
Setlist: Free, Great Northern Highway, Black Voodoo, Obsession, Break Me, The Road, Silent Scream
With the crowd now whipped into an expectant frenzy, the unmistakable form & hair of Andrew Stockdale led from the front, as Wolfmother took to the stage to begin their set… and what a set it was, with songs taken from right across the bands sixteen-year career, starting their show with that wonderful almost Black Sabbath sound on ‘Rock n Roll Survivor’ from their 2019 release ‘Rock n Roll Baby’.
We visited ‘Cosmic Egg’ for ‘New Moon Rising’ before going back to where it all began with two tracks from the bands self-titled debut from back in 2005 with ‘Vagabond’ and the timeless & outstanding ‘Woman’, the latter turning the dance floor into a bouncing, writhing sea of bodies. Stockdale’s facial expressions are wonderful to watch and it was evident throughout just how much fun these more intimate of shows are for the trio as they continued with another newer track ‘Higher’ before slipping us back to the beginning once more with ‘White Unicorn’ & ‘Apple Tree’.
Bassist & keys man Bobby Poulton looked to be having just as much fun as Stockdale as he constantly smiled & laughed as he engaged with the crowd who were now in full party mode, all the while drummer Hamish Rosser kept the band tight and in order with his exceptional stick work. The title track from the 2016 release ‘Victorious’ was followed by ‘Gypsy Caravan’ before ‘Pyramid’ took us right back to where it all started once more but still kept the momentum going on this high-octane night of 70s infused blues rock.
Another new track in the shape of ‘Spanish Rose’ was well received, before Stockdale led the band into a string of fast-paced tracks with ‘California Queen’ & ‘Kick Ass’ building the frantic energy in the room to an unstoppable crescendo until ‘Dimension’ threatened to blow the roof off.
With the crowd now baying for THE song to end all Wolfmother songs, Stockdale delayed it by finishing the set with the colossal ‘Colossal’, with the band leaving the stage to an amazing reception. It wasn’t long before the sweaty throng got their wishes as the band returned with Stockdale playing the crowd shouting, “We don’t HAVE to do Joker as the final song” before laughing loudly and launching into that very song – play ‘The Joker & The Thief’ in any rock bar in the world and the reception will be the same – near on frenzied insanity! For those at the Sugarloaf Rock Festival I can report Wolfmother are in the finest of forms & in an extremely playful mood – for those who attended Freo.Social & Bar1 you’ve been blessed to see one of the world’s genuine stadium rock bands at close quarters. Outstanding!
Setlist: Rock n Roll Survivor, New Moon Rising, Vagabond, Woman, Higher, White Unicorn, Apple Tree, Victorious, Gypsy Caravan, Pyramid, Spanish Rose, California Queen, Kick Ass, Dimension, Colossal
Encore: The Joker & The Thief
PHOTO GALLERY
Photos by Linda Dunjey Photography
Wolfmother
Maverick Firebird
