Wolfmother – Gig Review 27th April @ Metro City, Perth WA

WOLFMOTHER
Metro City, Perth, WA
April 27th, 2017
Supports – Dream Rimmy

Wolfmother were in town just a few short weeks ago in support of rock titans, Guns ‘N Roses, but the band were kind enough to return to Perth Thursday night, playing to an energetic albeit sparse crowd at Metro City. It beggars belief that these guys can fill stadiums overseas, yet locally its small nightclubs only and after tonight’s turn out, maybe Perth might not see these guys next tour. WTF Perth!

Perhaps the Mike Patton burn all those years ago have pushed the band into a Nickelback-like corner in more recent times? Perhaps it was the majority of fans getting their Wolfmother fill at GNR? Either way, I was here to see the band perform in a more personal environment and to be honest, the haters gonna hate as Wolfmother were impressive to say the least.

First up however were sextet, Dream Rimmy, a bunch of Perth locals that release their EP, Heavy early next month. Sounding a bit Dandy Warhol’ish, with a heap of synthesised pop beats, this psychedelic shoegaze stuff was kind of lost on me but the crowd were digging them nevertheless with mops of hair bobbing side to side and blank looks at their shoes throughout. I don’t get it but accomplished musicians all the same.

Anyways, onto the main feature. Wolfmother hit the stage to ‘Victorious’, the title track of 2016’s album, a rollicking track that kicked the cobwebs out and had head honcho, singer/guitarist Andrew Stockdale in fine form right from the get go. With both Stockdale and the equally impressive bass/keyboardist (sometimes simultaneously!), Ian Peres both jumping around on stage you couldn’t help but move and whilst the crowd attendance was pretty poor, they were at least energetic.

It seems Wolfmother, despite touring their new album wanted to treat their fans on this tour to a solid chunk from their most recognisable album, Wolfmother as after a swift version of ‘New Moon Rising’ they ripped straight into ‘Woman’, ‘White Unicorn’ and ‘Apple Tree’ from the record and a heap of tracks after that. Suffice to say, the fans were captivated and it showed with crowd participation rising. Newer track, ‘Gypsy Caravan’ with its groovy bass intro was a highlight, particularly Peres who has been a superb addition to the band since 2009’s Cosmic Egg. His multi-tasking between two instruments is something to behold.

There wasn’t much banter between Stockdale and crowd, the front man happy to have his guitar do the talking, and talk it did, seamlessly, flawlessly, plucking its way through a bunch of classics, including the stellar yet more sedate, ‘Where Eagles Have Been’; another highlight moment. A quick break to wish and sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to tour drummer, Alex Carapetis and it was on with the show, though it has to be said Stockdale’s vocals were getting weaker with each song . With a show the night before in WA’s Margaret River, we’ll forgive the crazy haired front man as we’ve all faced a ‘night after Margs’ at least once in our life time!

Crowd favourites, ‘Mind’s Eye’ and ‘California Queen’ gave the crowd some sing-a-long moments and the encore of ‘Joker and the Thief’ had the fans smiling from ear to ear. A shit crowd (in size) in all honesty, some would say ‘typical Perth’, but at least those true fans who attended rocked out and tasted some Wolfmother classics. Let’s hope the small crowd was just a glitch in the matrix.

Review by @plugga73

 

 

Setlist – 

Victorious
New Moon Rising
Woman
White Unicorn
Apple Tree
Gypsy Caravan
Vagabond
The Love That You Give
How Many Times
Colossal
Where Eagles Have Been
Pyramid
The Simple Life
Mind’s Eye
California Queen
Dimension
Encore:
Joker & the Thief