By PERRY GRAYSON
THE evening kicked off with a ballsy bang from Sydneysiders Los Hombres Del Diablo. They laid down some solid stoner rock grooves in the vein of Kyuss, Brant Bjork and Clutch. Singer Sean’s raspy and powerful vocals propelled Los Hombres to new heights in a scene which is largely dominated by Cookie Monster growls. The dynamic dual axe team of Mal Lloyd and Matt Allen kept things straight and to the point. No bullshit here! Mal held down the rhythm fort while Matt weaved in and out of bluesy solos. Skinsman Nathan Millett provided the perfect back beat for the Sabbath infused proceedings, locking in with bassist Jay Wilson’s overdriven four-string.
Second in line was Melbourne’s Seedy Jeezus, riffing through a mostly instrumental set with abandon. Guitarist Lex is a wild man, frenetically firing off salvos of fuzzy lead passages while shambling around the boards. Halfway through Seedy Jesus was joined by Earthless guitarist/vocalist Isaiah Mitchell. With Mitchell at the helm, Seedy Jeezus plumbed through the past to deliver obscure covers not usually chosen by other stoner rock bands. A standout was Rory Gallagher’s “A Million Miles Away”.
Headlining this furious annual rawk fiesta were San Francisco stoners Acid King. By the time Acid King hit the stage the upstairs room at the Newtown Social Club filled to the brim with a crowd composed of both grizzled Gen X road dogs and young fuzz-hungry hipsters. Spearheaded by axewoman/singer Lori S, they pleasurably pounded the crowd with enormous slabs of drop-tuned despondency. Showing where her passions lie, Lori was decked out in elephant bells. Bassist Mark Lamb bolstered Lori’s sonic shower with a distorted low-end thunder. Drummer Joey Osbourne set the doom-laden pace, hammering the skins and cymbals into submission. A cosmic and trippy projected backdrop added to the psychedelic flavour. Lori’s blaring full Marshall stack made absolutely certain that the audience was thoroughly deloused and sanitised by the overpowering waves of sound.
-
Motley Crue – Cancelled EP (CD)
$30.08 -
Slash – Orgy Of The Damned CD and vinyl
$23.33 -
Skid Row – Subhuman Race vinyl
$57.03 -
Riley’s LA Guns – Renegades
$65.99 -
Motley Crue – Shout At The Devil 40th anniversary boxed set
$271.88 -
KISS – Creatures Of The Night 5CD blue ray boxed set
$317.42 -
Judas Priest – Stained Class vinyl
$696.00 -
Airbourne – No Guts No Glory CD
$169.92
