Last Friday, Kingswood brought with them two Melbourne-based bands to help rock fans attending their Microscopic Wars 10 Year Anniversary tour at The Triffid in Brisbane.
First up, and not long after the live room doors are opened (9 August), Jacob Fitzgerald and The Electric City (JF and TEC) hit the stage and our night of rock & roll is commencing. Heck, I think I have underestimated JF and TEC's ability to get the party started from the get-go with 'Hurt Me Harder' that introduces new fans to his clear and smooth vocals and engaging energy.
With more of tonight's crowd joining us in the room, they too are eagerly taking in the next song a sad one, 'Long Way Home' that is followed by more melodic and indie pop-rock offerings stitched up with some cool riffs and banging beats from the tubs played side of the stage as other drum kits are set up for the following bands.
Jacob Fitzgerald - image © Clea-marie Thorne
'Shame On You' sounds like a timeless classic and is going down like a smooth, malt whisky which is what you might gravitate towards if you are relating to the lyrics. Fitzgerald invites us to sing-along to their next song, 'Chlorine', and as we do our very best, he seems impressed with our efforts.
Charismatic Fitzgerald, backed by Alex Walker (guitar), Angus McKean (drums) and Liam Gracias (bass), JF and TEC continue serving up their broad range of indie rock and pop, including 'Coffee, Cigarettes & Sex', 'Obsessed' and a banging cover of 'Lonely Boy' by The Black Keys that gets the hips moving in the crowd.
No one can help but to break out in song – EVERYONE knows the lyrics! It's like a well-planned icebreaker that gets the few reserved punters to open up to the band by joining in to sing a familiar song.
Jacob Fitzgerald & The Electric City - image © Clea-marie Thorne
Now infected and no longer reserved, they join us in getting down to 'Penny Lane', a killer track 'Sophia' and closing cracker, 'Muse'. I'd definitely rock up to another gig with JF and TEC on the line-up. It's tasty live music, great songwriting with excellent instrumentation that'll have you sorted for a rocking night out.
During the break we gently start bouncing to House Of Pain's 'Jump Around', which is a signal The Delta Riggs are coming to the stage. Sure enough, Alex 'Rudy Mah' Markwell (guitar), Michael 'Monty' Tramonte (bass), Simon McConnell (drums), and Jesse Pattinson (guitar) – making four fifths of The Delta Riggs – "jump up" on the stage to "get down" with us. Wink.
As the lads assume their positions, swaggering onstage wearing a hat and denim jacket, toting a megaphone is Elliott Hammond (vocals, guitar) making the complete rigg of music maestros before us. Hammond had the warning siren armed on the megaphone before abandoning it, leaving it bleating on the stage. Lucky for our ears, someone turns it off.
As the band greet us with 'Bright As The Sun', Hammond’s presence reaches us like a ray of sunshine. He hasn't lost an ounce of his frontman charisma since I last saw them at The Zoo.
The Delta Riggs - image © Clea-marie Thorne
His signature moves inspired by other dynamic frontmen (think Jagger, Tyler, Iggy) and women (think Joplin) who moved like the music possessed them and is bubbling up from inside Elliott making him writhe, twist and turn and toy with the mic stand.
The Delta Riggs are not only playing tight tonight, but have fun from the start. Even during their second song 'Time' there is a lot of eye contact, smiles and nods between band members. I know they're loving playing to us, but there may also be an inside joke going on. Heck, it's probably both!
Punters are having a hoe down to their set with a tease of Hendrix ahead of 'Money', which is followed by more beer swigging by Hammond and then 'Stone Hearts' and 'Baddest Motherf...er In The Beehive' that gets a rowdy response from the crowd and sees Hammond flinging his mic cord and stand, when not propping himself up on it, and changing up his shirts and glasses throughout.
Punters can't help but move and groove to the likes of 'Cuts Like The Fox', a crack-up cut of Elliott performing 'The Hokey Pokey' in the style of AC/DC, followed by 'The Real Electric' and 'Fake That' with a small mash-up of 'Don't Stop Me Now' by Queen. Don’t worry guys, we won't!
'Don't Be Lonely', 'Perfume & Lace', 'Soul Train' and 'Supersonic Casualties' only serve to make us hungry for more. I see some of the band dropping the beers for a swig of Jamiesons – I wonder if they had a bourbon with George out the back, before taking the stage? IYKYK.
To our benefit, the lads are having more fun onstage by way of duelling guitars. Yup. It's a rock-off that spices it up for us with well-known riffage from Deep Purple's 'Smoke On The Water', 'Are You Gonna Go My Way?' by Lenny Kravitz, 'Sunshine Of Your Love' by Cream and 'Dammit'.
The Delta Riggs - image © Clea-marie Thorne
'All were air guitar and devil horn worthy! I swear Black Sabbath 'War Pigs' was in there too right after a lady is told "Sorry baby, if you get close, you get wet!" when the crowd is asked to give it up for Pattinson who then breaks that riff open. I swear it's the truth!
'Never Seen This Before' is their funky and catchy departure song, the band go hard up onstage and we sing and dance like we don't care who is watching. We are left heaving and thirsty and there is a rush of punters crashing the bars.
The Delta Riggs never fails to entertain. The back-end work by Monty and McConnell was tight played with their usual affable, chill attitude. The integration of keys and Hammond on his maracas and tambourine was cool to watch adding spice to the songs.
While in the guitars we trusted to thrill us over and over with their voices of steel manipulated by deft fingers of Pattinson and Markwell. Hammond is Hammond. His rockstar presence, onstage banter and spiffy wardrobe can do nothing but make you smile. Altogether they seal The Delta Rigg deal for Riggletts, every time.
After catching our breath, Kingswood are here to rock the house and our bones. Alex Laska (vocals, guitar), Fergus Linacre (keys, vocals), Josh Koop (drums), Jack Davies (bass), Nick Gray (guitar) receive a boisterous welcome from fans under the domed hangar.
Kingswood - image © Clea-marie Thorne
Within milliseconds excitement has risen. Will it be 'All Too Much' for diehard fans as they set about playing the 'Microscopic Wars' album. Well, we are still standing after one song, but will we be after 'Sucker Punch' and our boisterous sing-along to 'ICFTYDLM (I Can Feel That You Don't Love Me)'? Of course we are, we are here to rock!
Nostalgia and glee are having 'Micro Wars' in the vibrating air around us. Neither are winning the battle of the fans who are losing themselves singing and dancing in the sonic sounds of Kingswood as they smash out the album in order under vibrant coloured lights and atmospheric fog.
'So Long' leds us into the frenetic beats of 'Ohio' that proved too much for Laska's axe, alas a broken string, but it didn't stop the rock. 'Hours' bled into the heavy and dense tones of 'Side To Side'.
'Tremor' brightened the mood of the music before the moody ballad 'Eye Of The Storm' where Linacre proved his vocal diversity on the album as the keys and bass are the star instruments of this tune. Returning us to a fever pitch is 'She's My Baby' and many fans are trying their best to take over the lead vocals from Linacre – my kin shower singers!
Kingswood - image © Clea-marie Thorne
Our Kingswood hearts are being filled 'Piece By Piece' by the album recital and with this song's delicious groove; but it is the best saved till last, namely 'Chronos' and its thick, grungy tone that makes my music heart overflow.
While Brisbane didn't get any special guests, we are told about former band members, drummer Justin Debrincat and bassist Jeremy 'Mango' Hunter who joined the current line-up earlier on the tour. What an emotional trip that must have been after a decade – pity we didn't get to experience it, but c'est la vie!
Knowing they can't leave us with only the baker's dozen from the album, we yell for "one more song" and they respond to our ritual call. Our thanks for celebrating 'Microscopic Wars' is a selection of staple Kingswood favourites.
'Yeah Go Die' sets off the encore and brings a resurgence of high energy to the room. 'Creepin' was also in the mix for us, but what can I say the endorphins are at an all-time high and I stopped taking notes at this stage! I do recall rocking out to the delicious heavy rock sounds of their closing gift, 'Medusa'. To rock out is why I came and boogie I did!
Kingswood - image © Clea-marie Thorne
After a set of tight-ass tunes by one of the best rock & roll outfits Australia has to offer the world, we cheer loud and hard for Kingswood. The band take a bow before us with beaming smiles and the remnants of one of the bottles of Jamiesons is held high to toast us!
Well, I can't wait for more Kingswood tunes to be written and better still, more shows – MORE often please guys! We are only 1,800km up the road, come visit again real soon! Brisbane, be sure to get on it, when they do.
More photos from the concert.
