Rosemount Hotel
10 February 2012
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Review from Space Ship News:
Review by Keaton McSweeney
The beer garden at the Rosemount Hotel was packed before a single note was even played on Friday Feb 10th, and the motley assortment of crusty old timers, white collar professionals, still-rockin’ soccer mums and guitar-loving youths that made up the crowd could only have indicated one thing: YOU AM I – that timeless institution of Australian rock ‘n’ roll, were back in town to promote their new self-titled record.
Speaking of guitar-loving youths, psych revivalists SONPSILO CIRCUS opened the night with a barrage of wah-pedal abuse that would’ve made Hendrix proud. One of the most well oiled young bands in the city, the three-piece powered through a typically tight set of feedback soaked jams, impressing the smattering of people clinging to the sides of the room. Lead singer/guitarist Peter Leveson-Gower provided some indecipherable banter about “digging rocks” and promised that the band had recently penned “about thirty songs in one night”, before closing out the set with a ringing rendition of fan favourite ‘Sunshine’.
The crowd in the mercifully air conditioned Rosemount band room had grown slightly by the time local twang-merchants THE GHOST HOTEL took to the stage. Now, it must be said that if there’s one thing You Am I fans can do without, it’s self-indulgent rubbish. Unfortunately, The Ghost Hotel’s awkwardly ominous, plodding opening reeked of it, and fell flat with the expectant audience. Luckily, the rousing chorus and blistering guitar solo of second number ‘Dead Letter Heart’ served as a quick recovery, and for the most part the rest of their set was filled with solid, unpretentious alt-country. Professional shit-talker, relentless self-promoter (oh, and guitarist/lead singer) Aaron Green, did well to engage the audience, introducing slow country number ‘Juliet’ as “a good one to grab the missus’ arse to” (lovely), before former Red Jezebel main man Paul Wood finished things up with some passionate hollering that only a man as scruffy-lookin’ as himself could pull off.
And thus, the time in which to rock ‘n’ roll had arrived. Band room packed to capacity. Amps to 11, Lights down. Enter You Am I, stage right. With a cowboy hat perched on his head and generally looking like Keith Richards on holiday in Marrakech, the whirling ragdoll of guitar heroism that is lead singer/guitarist Tim Rogers spat a brief tirade of American slang to the crowd before opening things up with an energetic rendition of ‘Fifteen’. ‘Top of The Morn’ & Slip of the Day’ followed soon after, receiving a healthy cheer from the crowd and resulting in a few of the 40-somethings in attendance actually moshing. Whoa. Bass player and all-round man’s man Andy Kent provided another early highlight, taking over lead vocal duties for a damn fine rendition of the Creedence Clearwater Revival classic ‘Fortunate Son’, before ode to mental illness ‘Purple Sneakers’ provided a rare reflective moment…not THAT reflective, mind you. “I don’t want to hear your fucking excuses!” ranted the 42 year old Rogers to the audience. “I don’t care if you have to be up in the morning to mow your god damn lawn. I’ll come and mow your fucking lawn! After playing this goddamn rock’n’roll all night!” These histrionics were sealed with an impromptu kiss between Rogers and Kent, and things only got looser from that point on. A crushing performance of ‘The Ocean’ from the group’s new record was swiftly followed by the one-two punch of ‘Junk’ and ‘Billy’, before a cover of ‘Cinnamon Girl’ got the room really moving. And you can just tell that guitarist Davey Lane LOVES hitting that one-note solo.
Returning to the stage for the requisite encore, a bleak, bass heavy rendition of depression anthem ‘Heavy Heart’ brought everyone back to earth, before Rogers launched himself into the crowd for the screeching thrash of closer ‘Thank God I Hit The Bottom’. And then, as suddenly as it had begun, the show was over; a smile on every face, sweat beading on every forehead, and all of us content in the knowledge that Australian rock’n’roll lives on…as long as You Am I are around, in any case.