67 Special
» Rush in Attack - venue, Sat, January 10
» Enola Fall - venue, Sat, January 31
» 67 Special, Mary Trembles and Black Mustang - Zoo, The, QLD - September 8, 2007
» 67 Special - Zoo, The, QLD - September 8, 2007
» 67 Special - Public Bar, The, Vic - October 29, 2005
» 67 Special - Melbourne, - September 17, 2005
It's hot and sweaty inside the Public Bar's band room. Ridiculous heat levels reduce the punters to sweat equal amounts as the band members onstage. The tiny room is packed out for 67 Special's final show for The World Can Wait tour; and it represents a triumphant return for the band. The Public Bar is home for 67 Special, the pub that supported them early on and provided them a welcoming place to enjoy a drink or perhaps a couple of rounds.
It was a cause for celebration and the bands and audience were in for a good time. Along with the rest of Melbourne, celebrating Derby Day, the gig was complete with a couple of girls frocked up for the occasion. But the crowd were drinking for a different reason. Instead of horses and small men in shiny uniforms, it was rock and roll and skinny lads in tight black denim.
The night kicks off with The Lazy Sons. They are a five-piece hailing from Benalla, and good friends of 67 Special. They play dance-able power chord driven tunes that are sprinkled with catchy keyboard riffs and supported by feet-tapping rhythms. Front-man, Rob, prances and dances while screaming to the crowd to join in and get hyped up. The punters happily oblige.
The Exploders follow and maintain the energy within the room, despite the shuffling around during sound check. Building up a strong following of their own and being highly commended by 67 front man, Ash Santilla, later that evening, they definitely live up to all the praises. Drummer, Matt Britten, is a powerhouse. Mental beats that never seem to lose momentum. This, accompanied by high-pitched guitar riffs and near-to-perfect vocals from TJ Allender and great harmonies from bassist Paul Doery, made it almost impossible to believe that they were just the supporting act.
That is, until 67 Special stepped onstage. Being the last show of the tour, they were tired and probably extremely over their songs. However, they still managed to deliver. The performance itself wasn’t the best that I’d seem from them, but there was just an element of confidence within the band that proved how far they had come. It was obvious when a band has been on tour for a long time. They start to get creative. Melodies change and are elongated, so are guitar solos and hell, the songs are just longer than they usually are. But the crowd loved every second of it and begged for an encore. Sing-a-long highlights were “Walking Away” and EP hit “Hey There Bomb”.
Regardless, the dancing did not stop through-out the entire set.
67 Special have come a long way from being a well-known support band, to headlining their own tour to promote their brilliant debut The World Can Wait. The world will probably have to. These guys deserve a well-earned break.
