It’s Saturday night, we are spoilt for choice in this amazing city and so many talented artists call Perth home. Since the dynamic of the pandemic has changed more interstate acts are travelling to the West Coast to pedal their wares…… the latest is Jebediah – for me an iconic Australian act whom have been entertaining the punters for over 20 years. Supported by some familiar faces in local lyrical landscape End of Fashion and King Ibis.
The Charles Hotel is a stalwart of the musical musk that healthily resides over the faithful, a many of amazing acts have graced the stage and have proved time and time again why you should check out live music at The Charles… tonight was to be no exception.
I got there dead on 8pm (just like the post said on the STARR Special Events Facebook page had suggested) doors open – I wasn’t the only one to heed John’s advice, the line was long which reaffirmed my expectation that I was in for a cracking night.
I had caught King Ibis before, I was well aware of their calibre – they deliver every time for me and you can understand why they are rated so highly in Perth. STARR had chosen wisely regarding his opening act with their careful balance of youthfulness, technical understanding and vocal prowess King Ibis knocked it over the fence for six!!!
This 4-piece indie rock/pop band add personal insights into all their music, I compare the experience to adding ice blocks into your favourite summer beverage…. it just make it taste so much better – quirky and catchy these champions deliver the package of entertainment on time every time! Highlight for me was my favourite ‘Never Been So Fine’ – make sure you check it out on all major streaming platforms.
Up next was one of my favourites End of Fashion, another infamous 4-piece that has called Perth home. I have seen them countless times and consider them a staple of my music diet – you need to check out their new music it’s amazing. They saunter onto the stage but there is a noticeable difference… No Julian (guitarist) – how is the void going to be filled on the big stage? This 4-piece is so slick and tight and they perform like a race car with 4 racing tyres….. let’s see how they perform with 3! Sometime I need to check my doubt – this was one of those times. Firstly I need to apologies to EOF – Nick, Nessa and Justin filled that void like a freshly puttied wall ready for painting. If you were seeing End of Fashion for the first time you would have been none the wiser. That race car burned through the times setting records at every lap – a well oiled race car doing what it loved ….. more importantly what the crowd loved (me included).
They opened with ‘Wake Up’ and proceeded to smash through the hits, I love the acoustic version of ‘New Slap’. ‘Diamonds’ is another amazing track along with ‘She’s Love’ and ‘Dancing’. My favourite for the set and possibly the crowds as well was ‘Oh Yeah’ – no one was NOT singing along to that. A lot of people were yelling for an encore which is a real testament to their performance…… top effort EOF – well played.
Next was Jebediah – over 2 decades these champions have been performing, striving and have encapsulated Aussie Rock. You would struggle to find any Australia that was influence by 90s music that didn’t have an appreciation of these 4 talented individuals. You can see when they perform they are truly happy and just love to play – the volume set to loud, cheeky banter plentiful, this close knit quartet have hit a many a stage and give the same energy irrespective if it is a stadium or The Charles Hotel. Their back catalogue is extensive and I am struggling to see how they are going to get all my favourites ( I know I am selfish but I don’t care) into the one set.
Rumours circulate that it is going to be a 17+ song set list – I really hope so as I have not seen Jebediah live since the Big Day Out era. They jump straight out the gate with some absolute bangers – ‘Lino’, ‘Animal’ and one of my favourites ‘Jerks of Attention’ – a ripper of a song. It is a weird sensation when you see a crowd of people sitting at tables whom look to have no desire to move, throw caution to the wind and start jumping around like they are on fire looking for water. There was not an occupied table in the house. They keep busting out hits one after the other ‘Military Strongmen’, ‘It’s Over’, ‘Harpoon’, ‘Star Machine’, ‘Puckdefenda’… way too many to count. The punters danced, jumped and did not stop smiling for well over an hour and a half. There was two significant points in their set which I would have loved to filmed – ‘Leaving Home’ and ‘Falling Down’ – one after the other it was the most intense 6 and half minutes of live music.
Music has the ability to time travel – tonight I was taken to a special place that I missed and loved. Thanks Jebediah……. Made my night.
GALLERY to follow…