5 Acts in The Arvo

As I arrived a small crowd gathered on the outskirts of the skate ramps, anticipating the start of the gig, which running late as usual. HQ isn’t your usual venue, a council initiative to encourage the growth of a youth culture, it is surrounded my skate ramps covered in the creations of the local graffiti artists and holds various other youth orientated projects in it’s main room which is set up primarily for music production and small gigs. This atmosphere the perfect setting for a gig composed of the younger generation of indie rock and grunge acts in WA at the moment.

The gig kicked off with Suns of June, a down to earth four piece hailing from the other end of the train line, Fremantle. A few original tracks to get the ball rolling, then covers from Queens of The Stone Age and the Arctic Monkeys and finally their most popular song, ‘The Puppeteer’. A decent performance with plenty of potential, for a little over half a year of playing together these boys had nothing to lose and they gave their best, not making anything more or less of who or what they were. A solid first act to get the afternoon rolling.

Next on stage came Pariyan, teasing the growing crowd as they set up with a total of six humbuckers on stage. The opening instrumental delivered on every hope that this prospect inspired, with guitarist, Sam Widlake-Briggs, already in fine form. The following tracks further showed off their talents, also bringing to light some fine drumming skills from Emporer Yuki. Sound was a shortfall throughout the set though, and while this would have been almost bearable an uninspiring vocalist put a downer on the whole set. As the set gave way to the final couple of songs the crowd were treated to some hairy onstage antics as the creativity gushed from the five piece, a band whose potential overtook most of the bands still to play.

Shake Angel hit the stage for the middle performance of the afternoon. It was easy to see these kids have been working hard to be where they are, with vocalist, Amanda, taking any opportunity to thank the crowd and give a quick sales pitch for their EP. It was this communication that caused the crowd to be rather uneasy however, luckily the music was decent. The backbone of this band was obviously the cohesive sound that seemed to remain constant throughout the set. They delivered a big sound for a three piece, a sound that was complimented by a Wolstenholm-like head pump from bass player Mark, the most animate of the group. Overall a solid performance, which had the crowd given more feedback could have been a great performance.

Short Fuse brought the crowd back to a more technical sound as it became clear there was going to be competition for guitarist of the day. Opening with a couple of their more renowned tracks from, which got the crowd in a good mood. It was clear the band had grown since I last saw them late last year, their sound a more skills based arrangement. By the final two songs the crowd was itching for a bit of stage theatrics, and this was delivered as the stage overflowed onto the speakers and the band became it’s own during WWIIII. Not to go without mention are the vocal skills of Kris Hailes, the best of the show and the drumming skills of the spritely Matt Dzodzos whose enthusiasm reminded me of Muse’s Dominic Howard. A set that would benefit from a headline position that will in time come as this three piece will most definitely be a force to be reckoned with in the coming years.

Finally, as we drifted into late afternoon, the gig climaxed when the Bullet Holes hit the stage. As a more mature band than the others, it was expected that they would blow away anything we had seen up until then, and for the most part they delivered. Opening with ‘Lay Down Your Guns’, the crowd was happily eased into a bigger sound than we’d hear all afternoon. As a caffeine induced performance unfolded in front of the audience the crowd reciprocated appropriately after a little band encouragement and we had what was a fully fledged rock gig with all the hallmarks of blinding strobes and a mad keen band doing what they loved. The emotive lyrics and guitar skills of front man Sean, combined with the blind showmanship and technical finesse from bassist Sean and drummer Brad, made a seemingly perfect match. This maturity in sound and as a band is also shown through their support for Amnesty International, a step in the right direction for music as a community. It was clear from the outset these guys are the real deal and have all the tools to be the next big thing in WA rock.