Gig Review: Rose Tattoo + The Poor at The Bridge Hotel, Sydney

Live review: Rose Tattoo and The Poor at Bridge Hotel, Sydney, Wednesday, April 19 2024

By BRIAN GIFFIN

ONE of the myriad of framed gig posters on the walls of the Bridge Hotel proclaims the venue to be “The Last Bastion of Pub Rock in Sydney”. It’s a pretty old poster, but it was true then and remains so now: the Bridge is the only pub that’s been hosting live rock music continuously since the eighties. And, as my friend immediately pointed out to me as I was pondering this, the same bands are still playing there, and many of the same people are still turning up to see them. Tonight brought together two generations of Australian music champions – Rose Tattoo, who helped to usher in the Golden Age of Pub Rock, and The Poor, who came in right at the end, the first of a two-night stand to finish off the Tatts’ national tour.

As the crowd trickled in, then began to swell, the demographic of the classic rock audience is wide. An old biker-looking dude with a huge grey beard and a top hat plants himself at the front, stage right. He’s probably been to every show the Tatts have played. There’s a couple of very tall Asian punks; a guy in a grimy battle vest; couples young and not so young; a tall, well-dressed man with his two early-twenties sons – he told me later he first saw Rose Tattoo at Narara in 83 – a bunch of young single girls. Then there’s the usual gang of Gen Xers and late Millennials that still get out to every show they can. 

We’re all moths drawn to the flame of rock and roll, ignited first up by The Poor who instantly start kicking ass like it’s 1994.

“Rose Tattoo will be on later, but right now THE STAGE IS OURS!” Skenie declares after two songs of powerhouse heavy rock that’s so loud it’s nearly painful. A great frontman sells the band, and Skenie is a master of his craft, working the crowd with an easy-going swagger while the band cut loose behind him. Matt Whitby swinging a huge black five-string bass like an axe, Dan Cox chopping out big fat riffs, Gav Hansen keeping things tight with point-blank precision. Their set is all good time rock and roll energy. Skenie throws on a guitar to keep the riffs pumping while Cox tears off solos on his Eureka flag guitar (an overarching theme for the evening, as it turns out), making sure the likes of ‘Tell Someone Who Cares” and “Payback’s a Bitch” continue to pack a whallop. 

As the punchy riff of their big legit hit “More Wine, Waiter Please” fills the room, the energy overflows until Skenie’s up on the bar, belting it out to the staff there and making sure everyone’s suitably fired up for the main atttraction.

If The Poor were an explosion, Rose Tattoo’s release of energy is a slower burn. With a casual saunter, they step up and swing into “Rock N Roll is King” on a stage draped with the Australian flag. Angry’s mighty razor throated voice cuts through the bluesy riffing and Mick Arnold’s slashing slide guitar, still a force of nature as he leans back and lets it out. 

Tonight is the penultimate show on a tour celebrating 40 years of Southern Stars and half the album graces the set. Sometimes ill-regarded as too polished and slick, live these songs come across with just as much muscle as any other Tatts track. After charging through “One of the Boys”, the band roll out four songs that work as a suite Angry ties together with some nationalistic fervour based around the Eureka rebellion legend and “Southern Stars” definitely gets the room singing.

“The Radio Said Rock n Roll is Dead” becomes a sprawling hard blues showcase for Ronnie Simmons’ lead guitar and “Remedy” chimes in, fast and mean. Simmons and Arnold bounce off each other behind their leader, Mark Evans nails down the bottom end with no effort as Paul Demarco adds the swing to the rhythmic drive. Out front, Angry wails and roars, along with  regaling the crowd about his love of a good whiskey. 

It’s a glorious thing to experience. Rose Tattoo is absolutely on fire, holding up their reputation as one the finest live rock and roll bands still walking the planet like a badge of honour. When Angry departs the stage as the rest of the lads are still ringing out the final crashing chords of:‘Nice Boys”, no one could be left in any doubt that, thanks to bands like these, rock and roll is still king.