We all know Rock and Roll ain’t dead, but all the proof you need of its beating and diverse heart was on display tonight at Perth’s best kept secret Dive Bar – ‘Eleven’ buried deep in the mist-shrouded backstreets of industrial Malaga. Walking into Eleven is like walking into the bar you always hope to stumble on, it’s small enough to be intimate, holding around 120, but big enough to host a party for Perth’s newest Rock and Roll artist management venture – Raging Bear.
That of course is what tonight is all about – the launch. It’s great to see a room full to bursting (but safely within local Council rules) from the off and the four artists that play tonight are all ones that make you realise what a great music scene Perth has these days.
Compared by Rossco Hunter from Hunter Brothers Media and long-term collaborator with The Rockpit, the night runs incredibly smoothly despite a few early issues with opening act Laurie Luke’s mic.
Laurie Luke is an act you need to hear, fronting a power trio that commands the stage and takes you to a place where music was more elemental. These guys know how to Rock and are surely connected to a higher power. With a few singles ready to go – and dates to support the first of which ‘Breaking the Chain’ booked (Including a trip to The River with Electric State in October) they tear up the stage and have the crowd roaring from the off.
“The best thing about Perth’s music is it’s diversity”, Laurie tells me later, quickly changing the subject after I ask about where he met Raging Bear’s Sean Bennett, reassuring me that he can “say lots of nice things about Sean” before disappearing to the bar.
That diversity comment comes moments before ColourMind hit the stage to underline that very point. ColourMind is of course simultaneously unveiling (or should that be unbagging) their new frontman Alex Hand. One of the most exciting bands on the Perth scene, they blend sheer force of will with some catchy tunes whilst channelling Metallica via Green Day. As they say ‘the crowd goes wild’. And as one of Raging Bear’s three initial signings there’s plenty more to come from these guys. All they would tell me about The Bear himself was that he was a “legend of the local scene who really got behind local musicians through The Rockpit and now Raging Bear.”
I hope that The Caballeros need no introduction. I catch up with frontman Jake England after their frenetic set to ask why they aren’t playing stadiums yet with their new more mature second helping ‘The Last Gentlemen of Rock and Roll” hot off the presses, he tells me that “Perth doesn’t quite understand garage rock and roll”. It’s clear though that the crowd here did.
The Caballeros may channel bands like MC5, The Stooges, The Stones and newer interlopers like The White Stripes, The Hives and The Hellacopters, but Mr England has more of a ‘James Brown meets the preacher’ aspect to him. Rock and Roll becomes a religion in the hands of these guys and they just might be the first band to climb the bar in this venue. Asked to join the bill at the last minute – ‘The Caballeros curse’ as Jake calls it, they could well be one of the greatest rock and roll bands in the west today.
Asked about The Bear himself Jake has nothing but good things to say: “He’s the kind of guy who will do anything for you, and as a result you’ll do anything for him.” There’s even a guest appearance with Krissy from Ballbreaker to add some guitar – it’s a great way to end a great set.
For those that know the guy behind Raging Bear there could only be one band to close this epic night of Rock and Roll mayhem and that’s ‘Electric State’ – a band that has so much to give and who are so iconic in stature that there’s a real danger that Perth will soon be unable to adequately hold all members in one place at the same time. Fresh off a tour of Japan and with eight new songs in the can for album number two, one of which we get to hear tonight, it’s controlled madness at Eleven.
The 2-time WAM winners always bring the party with their audience participation and sing-a-long tunes, and with the charismatic always beaming Rob Viney steering the ship what possibly could go wrong! It’s the perfect way to end the night before the raffle of prize packs from The Artists, Raging Bear and The Rockpit. Catching up with Rob Viney after the show Rob too assured me that “I can say so many great things about Sean Bennett” before disappearing to the bar.
Before the show I also managed to get hold of Mark from The Rockpit who recalled bumping into Sean ‘Raging Bear’ Bennett at a gig by UK legends Thunder and then a month later when Black Stone Cherry came to town. “I realised then that Sean had a passion for the same kind of music I did and so invited him to write something for The Rockpit, then after a while introducing him to his very first interview with, ironically, US rockers Black Stone Cherry. The rest is history, and it all leads to this wonderful Raging Bear adventure. Local music deserves a champion like him, and of course Nic doing all the hard lifting behind the scenes! I’ve seen the Perth music scene ebb and flow over the last 20 years and always had the attitude that we are all in this together – the press, the musicians and the fans, and so the more we come together the bigger and better things get. Sean is a great people person and just the right (do I have to say bear?) bear for the job.”
Seriously though and all joking aside, if this is a taste of what the Bear can do then not only does Perth have a burgeoning and diverse Rock scene, it’s also found a new champion in Raging Bear. So get out there and support local music with your feet, and you’ll find that you can treat yourself to many more nights like this.
Rock and Roll is dead? He was at the bar at Eleven tonight and he loved it…
The Buffman
Photos by Caris Bingemann Photography
GALLERY
