Live Review
Race of the Harridan, The Dirty Eastwoods & The Johnny Mustards
It is good to see that rainy nights do not deter the music lovers of Brisbane from coming out to support their local acts. The GPO is a great venue for live music with a successful blend of history and youth vibe. The sound mix is excellent which can often be a difficult thing to master in smaller venues.
The Johnny Mustards kicked off the line up with an authentic heavy rock sound, adding their own spin for originality. For a band that has only been playing for a few months these guys deliver a powerful and polished performance that is only going to get better with every gig. This is definitely a band with their own sense of style led by front man Fraser with laceless Doc Martins and a long shock of insanely curly hair worn, fetlock style over a savage undercut. This tidy three piece is worth a look next time you see them in a line up.
Next on the bill is The Dirty Eastwoods who deliver a high energy performance accompanied by entertaining on stage antics. These guys just love to perform and bust out thumping sets every time they play. The band is going through some line up changes currently, but the distinctive vocal stylings of lead singer and self confessed Master Mind of the Eastwoods, Kyle Van Trier, keeps the sound consistent. Listening to the Eastwoods is like exploring the rooms of a large exquisite house where every room is filled with enticing artifacts that beg exploration. I recommend downloading “Wasted” which is the title track of the band's current EP. Rumour has it we can look forward to a second EP before the end of the year.
Headliners are Race of the Harridan. I Googled Harridan and discovered it is a bossy old woman. The sound frothing forth from this bold foursome bares no resemblance to that description. The guitar work is bright, clean and decorated with ear pleasing harmonic duets. This band gets the party started, humans are dancing, enjoying the solid rock sound with a smearing of surf funk and psychedelica. Get along to see Race of the Harridan next time they play.
Janelle Salmon