Punkfest 2015 saw The Hoodoo Gurus headline an amazing showcase of talent at the Hamilton Hotel on Saturday night (29 August) to a sold out show as part of the Punkfest string of gigs.
These guys sure know how to put an event on and massive respect goes out to the team.
The good ole Hamo has been a landmark for many years and is working hard to keep live music going. The staff and management team from Punkfest and 4ZZZ were very accommodating in every way to the bands/ production team and punters as well as this reviewer. They went over and above to look after everyone and I got the impression it worked a treat. No dramas or agro from a well behaved pack of sweaty punters, who showed nothing but respect and love to all the bands and each other.
We are very fortunate to have so many amazingly talented Brisbane acts and I feel privileged to be from this town. One the best bills I’ve been to this year as far as a well chosen list of A-game bands. I don’t have enough space to pee in all their pockets; however I will say HELL YEAH to them all.
Goldstool kicked off with a great set followed by Skeletones and then Fat. All great acts with some very cool tunes going on from them all. Crowd pleasers in the form of Mick Medew & The Mesmerisers blitzed their set as usual Then it was onto my favorite support for the night, Hits.
Hits will go a very long way as they have an almost addictive sound. I was blown away by them as were the rest of the punters. They have two of the coolest guitarist I have seen for a while due to their great presence and backing vocals. The lead guitarist had me hypnotized with her tone and rawness.
The Hoodoo Gurus hit the stage bang on time with a very well run production team and stage manager (I think his name was Tony). These guys didn’t seem to be rattled in any way shape or form. Six bands on a small stage can test any production crew, however not these guys. Well done to them all.
Dave Faulkner commanded the stage from the get go with his charisma, charm and amazing choice of set list. Some old classics were brought out for the event and the punters loved it. An extremely vocal crowd yelling out requests with Faulkner responding by changing the set list to suit the crowds’ needs.
The Hoodoo Gurus have been around long enough to know how to work a crowd and they set the bar high yet again. Faulkner took the crowd on a journey with his humour and has a presence that many strive to have. His voice is as good as it has ever been, as was Brad Sheppard’s. Some amazing vocals from them all with faultless harmonies.
Brandishing a new drummer in the form of none other than Nik Rieth from the likes of Radio Birdman and countless others. Nik played his fourth gig with the Hoodoo Gurus that night and you would have never known with the flawless intro’s. One can only assume he is comfortable in his new role at fullback. You get the impression these guys are only at the beginning of a great new phase of Hoodoo magic, and the smart money is on it.
Like a good bottle of red, they are only getting better as time goes on. No use by date for the Gurus.
