Reviewed on Tuesday August 26
“Let’s all get drunk on a Tuesday night and have a rad time.” Nick Manuell, lead singer of The Sinking Teeth, was stoked to be out on a school night and his vibe was contagious. Beers in hand, the Melbourne trio thrashed the stage with unapologetic energy and solid punk rock for a fun 40-minute set. The boys intercepted the rough and dirty tempo of a set including ‘Bottom Of The Lake’, ‘White Water’ and ‘You Can’t Build A Bike Out Of Muffins’ with equally filthy banter, fart jokes and tales of life on the road. “We drove here today, so I’ve been sucking on these guys’ farts all day,” was one gem Manuell happily told the room.
After a short interlude, Oz rockers Kingswood took the stage for their sold-out gig in stampede of howling, hip-shaking and hairy goodness; even the guitar tech ‘Jimmy’ was sporting a beard.
Touring the country to coincide with the release of their debut albumMicroscopic Wars, the Melbourne band kicked things off with ‘All Too Much’, followed by ‘Sucker Punch’, First Aid Kit’s ‘Wolf’ and a growling version of ‘She’s My Baby’. The classic thrash and ’70s rock’n’roll on songs like ‘Side To Side’ and ‘Piece By Piece’ were balanced by the sultry and soulful sounds during ‘So Long’ and ‘Eye Of The Storm’, while raw vocals were matched equally with expressive solos and onstage shenanigans.
Guitarist Alex Laska’s solo during ‘So Long’ was a definite highlight, as was the kiss Laska and lead singer Fergus Linacre shared before sliding into a sexy rendition of their latest hit, ‘I Can Feel That You Don’t Love Me’.
An energetic cover of Queens of the Stone Age’s ‘Feel Good Hit Of The Summer’ had the crowd jumping and a freestyle bluesy improv had everyone laughing before Kingswood took it home, ending the set on a high with a rowdy rendition of ‘Ohio’.
