On a day when a “Fuck Abbott” t-shirt was causing controversy in the music industry thanks to The Preatures’ Isabella Pitway – who won the Vanda and Young Songwriting competition, accompanied a slew of other amazing female singer/songwriters, including the wonderful Thelma Plum – it felt appropriate to be at a rock show with three bands all fronted by – for lack of a better term – “badass babes”. Tony might say they’re young, feisty and they have sex appeal… but I’ll go with my phrasing (…too soon?). But seriously, seeing so many women rocking, rolling and just being recognized for being awesome is proof that for every sexist, arse fuck of a politician out there, there are dozens upon dozens of women showing men how it’s done. And Friday night’s EP launch for locals Bloods was one such display.
Things kicked off with the Nat Martin fronted project The Fabergettes, who ooze 1960’s inspired style and charm. That’s not to say this is a band living in the past. They are taking these influences and keeping them fresh, exciting and most importantly: turning it all into a fantastic live show. Nat has superb stage presence that only grows with every performance. I can’t wait to see what happens with them all moving forward.
Not to be outdone, next up were Brisbane’s Major Leagues, who tonight were playing their first ever interstate show. They certainly impressed their new Sydney crowd, with catchy riffs, great melodies and that whole sort of non-chalant early 90s indie buzz that made bands like The Breeders so great. With great songs like “Teen Mums” under their belt, they topped it all off with a cover to the Daria theme song which went down very well indeed. Does anyone actually remember the band was who performed that song? FUN FACT: The song was called “You’re Standing on My Neck” and it was written and performed by Splendora. YOUR MIND WAS JUST BLOWN (because you probably didn’t know that).
And finally, it was time for the band of the night to take to the stage, celebrating the release of their long awaited debut EP Golden Fang. Kicking things off with a couple of new songs and some old favorites, hometown heroes Bloods went on to treat the crowd to the entirety of their new EP live, which included the recently released single “Into My Arms”, which went down a treat.
Having listened to the EP, seeing it live is like the other half of the puzzle. This is a rockin’ band who hold much of their charm and appeal in the energy of their live show. With FBi’s Sweetie on bass* and “MC” on vocals and guitar and the always engaging Dirk on the drums, this is a band who keep it simple and get it done. And they’re only getting better with age. Keep on rockin’ ladies. And gentle…man. Golden Fang is in stores and on iTunes now! And don’t miss Bloods when they come to Brisbane to play, among other BIGSOUND events, the AU review 5th Birthday Party on Friday the 13th of September! At Black Bear Lodge! Tickets are HERE.
*FUN FACT: Sweetie used to play violin for the now defunct Sydney band Lions At Your Door, which essentially was Bloods plus two different members. So if you’d like to know what came before Bloods, hunt yourself down some Lions At Your Door – it was comparatively under the radar, but there were some fantastic tunes in there…
