Wednesday night buzz

Expectations are high as the crowd starts to build early for UK act The Bees.

The Jenny's kick off the night with an energetic Shadows-esk instrumental and follow it up with a set of gangly pop-rock reminiscent of 90s Bris-band, Custard.

Second support, The Zebras open with 'The Forces of Light' from their self titled debut LP. They meander through more tracks from this album and the more recent release Worry a Lot. Sadly, tonight The Zebras’ set seems attuned to the Brisbane weather of late. Moments of sunshine dispersed amongst long days of dreary rain. Despite a couple of attempts to pick up the pace the crowd fail to respond. It seems we've heard it all before (about half an hour ago actually) and The Zebras quietly leave the stage.

With the support acts falling to rev up the crowd, it's up to Isle of Wight 60's rock enthusiasts The Bees to save the day. Luckily this multi-instrumentalist six piece have a swag of quality songs up their sleaves these days, with album number three Octopus hitting the shelves in the coming months.

Opening with 'One Glass of Water' from their second LP Free the Bees the band launched into a quality set covering funk, blues and rock. Taking the opportunity to showcase new tracks from Octopus to an eager crowd The Bees put in a stellar effort, even pushing on after an over zealous Paul Butler looses his voice. But it's the tracks from Free The Bees like 'No Atmosphere',' Wash in the Rain' and 'Hourglass' that really connect with the crowd. Closing with track 1 from Free the Bees 'These Are the Ghosts' The Bees briefly leave the stage before the chanting crowd draws them back out for an encore. What better song to close the night? 'Chicken Payback', complete with farmyard impersonations contributed by the band and crowd alike.

Finally, it’s smiles all around as an exhausted band leave the stage and satisfied punters leave the Zoo.

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