Review and photos by Carl Dziunka
Entering the Palace Theatre for what promised to be a very entertaining night of psych/rock music was at first glance pretty disappointing. The staff of The Palace actually outnumbered the patrons for tonight’s show even though The Murlocs were just about to take to the stage.
The Murlocs, who hail from Geelong, came on stage and started their set with full ferocity which kept up the same tempo all the way through. The lead singer, Ambrose Kenny Smith, who is also a virtuoso on harmonica, and also a member of the group King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, started playing a raw intro on harmonica that must have served as a signal to all the psych rockers in Melbourne. A stream of people started coming through the door and the place started filling steadily to hear the R ‘n’ B infused rhythms emanating across the atmosphere. Just as the groove was starting to set in, The Murlocs set was coming to an end which seems way too soon. They had put the first dint in a great line up that seemed perfectly matched to each other and the next band was ready to up the ante.
The Laurels came on stage and appeared to be doing final sound checking when they went headlong into the start of their set. With vocalists Piers Cornelius and Luke O’Farrell at each end of the stage it was musical tennis as both took turns as the lead. Bassist Conor Hannan strode backwards and forwards across the centre of the stage while Kate Wilson backed up the beat on drums. Playing tracks from their debut album “Plains”, the crowd was rewarded with a heavy set of Garage Rock/Psychedelic from this Sydney outfit. Luke O’Farrell certainly rocked out on his side of the stage swinging his guitar around like the proverbial axe. O’Farrell seemed so caught up in the set that he didn’t seem to realise when it had finished as he was still on the floor squeezing out the final notes of the last song as everyone else had walked off. He brought the set to an end as the other band members were already packing up their gear. That’s pure dedication and making sure you glean every last morsel from your performance.
All that was left for this night was the main act. The place had now filled to almost capacity and there was an air of anticipation in the venue as to what kind of spectacle was going to be on show. Minutes before the band took to the stage, coloured projections were sent onto the back of the stage and around the venue. This went on for several minutes before the band came on stage to thunderous cheers. This is only the third time the band has been to Australia but they have certainly built a dedicated following and this was a visual treat for their fans. Also with the release of a new album, Indigo Meadow, the fourth studio album by the band, there was a wealth of material to draw from which the crowd appreciated wholly. It had all the elements of a psych fest. The projections on the back of the stage, the white flashing lights which caused a stroboscopic effect on the band rendering them motionless and the bass infused beats that stirred memories of the free love days of the 60’s. Could it be that we had been transported back to the Haight Ashbury period? Even the new album cover of Indigo Meadow gave a vision of the Disraeli Gears album of Cream and the bass and drumming beat were not unlike the pairing of legends like Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker. Alex Maas himself gave a magnificent performance on vocals that would not be lost in the era of the early Stones giving a vocal roughness not dissimilar to that of Eric Burdon. It was a knockout performance of both audial and visual and something that was a pleasure for all the senses. Let’s hope it won’t be too long before The Black Angels are back on the shores of Australia again to take you back to the carefree days of Psychedelia.
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