It’s hard to go past a more perfect double bill than Buckcherry and Rose Tattoo – I mean it has it all: one of Australia’s finest vintage Rock acts and the band that rekindled Rock and Roll in the US 25 years ago. Both bands when you strip away the labels are all about attitude in spades and down and dirty Rock and Roll – what more could you want?
Tonight at the Rosemount in Perth we were in for a treat as Buckcherry kick off their short and sweet Australian Tour in style, and the late addition of Rose Tattoo (who were originally only playing the East Coast dates) is a real treat drawing out some familiar faces to see what all the fuss is about. The Tatts always put on a great live show and despite tonight’s lineup being much changed from last time they headed West they never fail to deliver. Opening with ‘Out of This Place’ and ‘Rock and Roll is King’ from ‘Assault and Battery’ tonight’s rather raucous crowd is immediately in the palm of Angry’s hand. Even ‘Man About Town’ from 2007’s “Blood Brothers’ (still their latest album) feels like a long lost friend.
Tonight as usual Angry is chatty and between gems like ‘Tramp’, ‘Butcher’ and ‘One of the Boys’ he throws out some sparkling asides and anecdotes. But this is a Rock and Roll show and the band seem intent on damaging some ear drums and just getting down to business. In all honesty they are nice and loose tonight, working in some lovely extended jams and searing guitar work. “I’ve been called a lot of things” Angry tells us before ‘Juice’ “but when we wrote this I was called a misogynistic midget, now midget I get…” the crowd loves it.
By the time we hit the closing stretch with ‘Rock N Roll Outlaw’ with it’s wonderful fat groove and extended work-out, ‘Bad Boy’, ‘Astra Wally’ and of course ‘Nice Boys’ with a shot of ‘Blue Suede Shoes’ you feel like you’ve already had your moneys worth! And that final song, the one that bands like Guns ‘N’ Roses picked up on, you feel is the link here (well that and the tattoos). The bands tonight may be a couple of generations apart but there is so much they share sonically. That no nonsense approach to Rock and Roll, that primal essence and the collective nod to the greats of yesteryear is what keeps hard rock so strong and so vital and everyone here tonight knows it.
ROSE TATTOO GALLERY
But tonight is of course all about Buckcherry and the 25th Anniversary of their iconic debut album. And if you’re going to open up with a bang what better way than to start out with the highest profile song from that 1999 debut – ‘Lit Up’. Coming so early in the set it surprises some and it’s a huge sonic high to start off the tour. Sadly though there is no more from the record that started it all. So when you open with a freight train what do you have next? It has to be the huge groove of ‘So Hott’ a song that just sounds huge live!
I honestly don’t think I’ve seen a crowd more energized and jump so much but by the time we hit ‘54321’ the room is just alive and you feel that the band can sense it as Josh’s trademark bandana comes off along with the shirt. It’s great to hear ‘So Far’ from ’15’ alongside ‘Ridin’ ‘ from the classic ‘Time Bomb’ and man it’s hot in here and the crowd is just grooving and dancing like it’s 1999 all over again!
I’m certain the whole of the Rosemount is dancing as we hit ‘Good Time’ where Josh misses a couple of lines, and it’s party central as we jump into the tambourine and James Brown of ‘Tight Pants’. The cover of Bryan Adams ‘Summer of ’69’ is as brilliant as it is unexpected for some “We’re just fans of Rock and Roll, that’s the main reason we do this” Josh tells us before they launch into the classic riff and it goes down a storm! “How long since you’ve been part of a good ’69” Josh asks the band as the bad jokes take over for a second!
“There’s time for one more. What do you want to hear?” Of course the answer from almost all of the crowd is ‘Crazy Bitch’ and that is exactly what we get. The room bursts into what can only be described as controlled chaos and if Josh is struggling with the odd line no one cares or notices because we are all singing this motherfucker! ‘Crazy Bitch’ is a party of a song and with a smattering of ‘Sex Machine’, ‘Bad Girls’ and even a couple of lines of Prince’s ‘Irresistible Bitch’ it’s as close to defining Rock and Roll and why it is so essential to as all, as you can get! Josh even throws in a rap about a Tuesday night in Perth Australia for good measure!
“If you can dance you can probably fuck, right?” he asks before introducing the band who have put on this storming show for us, they each hit their set piece whilst they slide left and right across the stage like James Brown or Maurice Day as the bass battles the drums, the guitars fire and we crash into ‘Proud Mary’ before we slide back into the loudest rendition of a crowd singing ‘Crazy Bitch’ I’ve heard! It’s an incredible end to what has to be the perfect Tuesday night in Perth.
“Don’t ever stop,” Josh tells us before thanking the Rosemount crowd one last time. Buckcherry is back baby and they are one fire. Look out East Coast you’re next!
BUCKCHERRY SETLIST
Lit Up | So Hott | 54321 | So Far | Ridin’ | Hellbound | Porno Star | It’s a Party | Carousel | Pain | Let’s Get Wild | Say Fuck It | Let’s Get Wild | Gluttony | Sorry | Good Time | Tight Pants | Summer of ’69 | Crazy Bitch (setlist from memory! This might change!)
Photos by Caris Bingemann Photography. With thanks to Revolutions Per Minute & Scot Crawford for the accreditation.
BUCKCHERRY GALLERY
