It was amazing how three such entertaining and talented bands didn’t draw a much larger group of punters to the Corner Hotel. While it was great not to be jostled or have my clothes christened by a dozen beverages, and it was brilliant to secure a spot at front of stage, I suppose bands like Alberta Cross would be used to playing to bigger crowds at overseas venues these days. I’m positive that after ‘Splendour In The Grass’, intimate shows like this will be more a thing of the past here, too.

Cabins, from Sydney, began the night with a gritty set that included songs from their new 8 track mini album, Bright Victory. Leroy (vocals), Brin (drums), Christopher (bass) and Dan (guitar/vocals) are certainly young and have a large following of baby-faced females who look too fresh to be let out alone. Initially I wondered at the disparate ages of the punters, but this kinda solved a puzzle for me. Cabins performed a number of songs from the mini album, including ‘In my time of Dyin’, ‘Mary’, and ‘Catcher in the Rye’. Their set was wonderful, but way too short - however I’m certain we’ll see them again soon. They are supporting Alberta Cross at all their Splendour sideshows, which should give them the exposure they deserve.

The Vasco Era are so much fun. The boys from Apollo Bay in Victoria threw out passionate and blistering sounds. They ripped through numbers from their new concept album Lucille, (which is about a stripper and her boyfriend).  There is humour in their music and a certain cheekiness that endears these guys to the punters, making for a truly memorable live experience. Their brand of blues-rock is edgy and just gets better with each performance and recording. We begged for more at the end of their set, but unfortunately there were strict time constraints. I believe we would all have been happy to stay later to experience more of their great music, but it wasn’t to be.

Now, I get to this point in the review and still can’t believe that Alberta Cross played to a half empty room.  Mumford & Sons are fans of theirs, which is a huge compliment.  They have shared a stage with the likes of Oasis, Bat for Lashes and The Shins, and are influenced by the darker songs of Depeche Mode and by Leonard Cohen, Nick Cave and such like. They are a polished outfit and though their music tends to be dark and angry, their passion, creativity and feel for what they do is something no one can miss.

Most of the songs they performed on this night were from their CD Broken Side of Time, which was released at the end of last year. They began with ‘Song Three Blues’ and worked through another 12 songs, which the diehards knew all the words to. I am a relatively new convert to this band but had heard ‘ATX’ quite frequently on the radio and was gagging to hear it live. They didn’t let me down, though I had to wait until almost the end of the set. 

The band members currently reside in Brooklyn N.Y. (though the lead singer, Petter, is from Sweden, and the bassist, Terry, is a Brit) so it may be a while before they get to make the long journey here again.  If you need a fix of Alberta Cross before they return to our shores, apparently their song ‘Lucy Rider’ is heard in ‘Survivors’, which is a BBC 1 series and ‘Low Man’ is heard at the end of episode 8 in season 2 of ‘Californication’…Better still, buy the C.D. I’ll leave you today with a puzzle. What is Alberta Cross an anagram of? The band won’t say, but I’m sure at least some of you out there will spend time trying to figure it out, then you can check with the boys the next time they tour here. I hope we don’t have to wait too long for that.