What I love about Wolfmother is their originality. The band has been through various iterations since hitting the scene two decades ago, the constants being Andrew Stockdale and great music.
The guys are another Australian band I first witnessed in Tokyo in 2007, when they were riding high off their massive first album, and they put on a fantastic show. Subsequently, I've seen them at two much larger events, including backing AC/DC in 2010, so I've been really keen to see them again in a stripped-back and smaller venue, to see if they evoke memories of the first time I saw them.
When the opportunity presents to see them at my local, the great Currumbin RSL's Soundlounge, it's an opportunity not to be missed. The event (31 May) is sold out a week or so ahead of the show, such is their local support, and they're to play with Couch Lizard, an infamous band from nearby Lennox Heads.
Couch Lizard kicked off the show with a great 45-minute set. It's clear from the outset that these guys have a strong peace and anti-war mindset. Singer Oliver Firth sports a magnificent mullet, and late in the set is causing all sorts of security issues as he moves off the stage and briefly into the crowd.
Couch Wizard - image © Bill Prendergast
As the set progresses, I hear the influence of one band more than any other; The Doors. The music is comprised of long and meandering (and chaotic) pieces, but with the driving bass, for me it evokes classics such as 'Riders On The Storm', 'Light My Fire' and 'The End'.
I asked guitarist Clint Gilmore after the show and he conceded this was one band they had been into, along with Pink Floyd among others. As the set went on, Firth became angrier, ditching the guitar (and his shirt), and was seen rolling and scrambling around onstage.
At one point during a guitar solo, he was frantically adjusting the controls on a range of Gilmore's guitar pedal effects, creating an even more frenzied sound. I thought their set was great, an excellent warm-up to the main act.
Frontman Andrew Stockdale from Wolfmother has a highly unusual look, which has not changed since their inception, and really sets the band apart, along with the music. He appeared onstage in a customary outfit (leather jacket, old jeans and white sneakers), and the three-piece got straight into the set, leading off with one of the best-known songs off the first self-titled album.
Wolfmother - image © Bill Prendergast
'Dimension' was a great piece to get going, and bass player James Wassenaar kept up with the central riff through the piece. The stage ceiling is so low that every time Stockdale points to the sky, he is almost touching it, a perfect, intimate setting for this kind of music.
The set shifts into the title track from 2021's 'Rock Out'. It's a hit with the crowd and as I listen I hear the influence of 'Detroit Rock City' from Kiss. The third piece of the evening is probably my favourite Wolfmother song, 'Woman'. It's one of the two massive hits from that first album, and one of the songs which broke the band internationally. Of course the crowd loves it, and is really warmed up at this point.
'Apple Tree' from the first album follows; it's an unusual piece, but I'm struck by how the crowd knows every lyric in the fast introduction, and is letting loose at top volume with the band.
'Midnight Train' from 2021 and 'California Queen' from 'Cosmic Egg' follow, before Stockdale asks the crowd: "Ok Currumbin do you want to get heavy?" This is his introduction to 'Colossal', and is followed by two more of my favourites from the self-titled debut: 'White Unicorn' and 'Vagabond'.
Wolfmother - image © Bill Prendergast
'White Unicorn' was one of the evening's most appreciated numbers; it's a fantastic track, and broadly following the studio version. Listening to 'Vagabond' I get a real vibe of the great record, 'Led Zeppelin III'; it comes in through the lyrics, the stomping drumbeat, and the whole feel of the song, and Stockdale really built the song up to a great close, yelling "living free" to wind up.
Obviously with Wolfmother, Led Zeppelin has been a constant and strong influence. When I saw them Wolfmother Tokyo, it was shortly after they'd played 'Communication Breakdown' at Led Zeppelin's induction to the UK Music Hall Of Fame.
I distinctly remember at that Tokyo concert, as they played through only their first album, I was thinking how much I'd love them to do a Zeppelin cover, and they launched into that song late in the set. It was magnificent.
'Victorious' follows, one of my favourite Wolfmother songs other than from the first album, then the crowd is told "we're gonna do a cover", and they launched into an excellent rendition of Zeppelin's 'Rock And Roll'. The drums are not quite as manic as the original, but it is amazing how much sound the three-piece puts out. I loved it, as did the crowd!
Stockdale announces this is the last concert in Australia before the guys embark on a two-month tour of Europe, highlighting the strong, continuing international appeal of the band's music.
Wolfmother - image © Bill Prendergast
As the band launched into 'New World Rising' Stockdale half-jokingly noted they will do 'Joker' but not yet! One further short piece is performed, before we hear the great guitar introduction to 'Joker And The Thief'.
It is such an amazing way to wind up the evening, a frenzied version, and at the end Stockdale is also shirtless, as the trio take their bows. As they walk from the stage, and even as the crowd spills out of the venue, we are left with the feedback from Stockdale's beautiful Gibson guitar, ringing out where he left it lying on the stage.
Wolfmother is a band not to be missed, and in my view a smaller venue is even better to extract the incredible energy in their music.
More photos from the show.
