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Guitar Wolf aren't for everyone, as I found out when 3 of my 4 companions left halfway through the first song. Seji (Guitar Wolf) U.G. (Bass Wolf) & Toru (Drum Wolf) have returned to Australia for the first time since their short East Coast tour back in 2006. Billing themselves as "jet rock 'n' roll", they are influenced by The Ramones, rockabilly & garage rock.
Midnight Woolf were supporting. They play a heavy rockabilly style set, with a lot of songs that sound remarkably like other people's songs with different words. The one that worked best was called "Mongolia" - apparently about a girl with a white horse who milked a black yak - sung to the tune of "Glora", by Them.
Throughout the Guitar Wolf set, the mosh pit was full throttle, with everyone in the vicinity seemigly sucked into it whether they liked it or not. Bass Wolf's bass appeared to have suffered a bit of damage somewhere along the way, when part of the body (including volume and tone control knobs and a string) snapped off. This didn't appear to significantly hamper his playing at all.
Drum Wolf was a powerhouse, keeping the band going and playing like a madman possessed. It didn't take long for him to strip off his top to show his traditional Japanese tattoos. With this minor exception, they were all fully decked out in leather, which must have been a killer in the tiny, packed venue.
The last time I saw Guitar Wolf (at the Tote again) Seji ended the night with only one string on his Les Paul. It didn't seem to make a lot of difference to the sound. His total spoken words for the night were: one, two, baby, motherfucker, Rock & Roll! This time the guitar emerged intact, but the wall of sound remained... Rock and roll, motherfucker, indeed.
