The Bees

Having not heard much of the Bees before I checked them out I didn’t know what to expect. I had heard that one “chicky-monkey song” (Chicken Payback) on a TV commercial and hoped that this is what their whole set would sound like. It didn’t. But it was a whole ‘nother kind of goodness.At the start of the show we were informed that the main singer, Paul Butler had lost his voice but I am sure that none of us could have been able to tell. That boy was rippin’ it up with those pipes! Now the reason that I say “main” singer is that the Bees are one of these renaissance bands that constantly change their instruments and roles. And they all do an exceptional job. In fact the lead singer is one of the best drummers I have seen recently. And so is the drummer! Woo!!The Bees kicked off in country style. They locked into a country groove but as would be indicative of the rest of the set, they let loose with same crazy unexpected wah wah riffage within that structure. The next track was decidedly funk based. Hard edged funk beats and a tight ass bass coupled with great horns and great vocals. All of a sudden we were watching a dub band in a Jamaican dancehall. Except everyone was white. They tripped onto the dub tip and did it very well. There was no put on accents or cheesy white boy flavouring, just well practiced great sounding dub music.The middle of the set was the flattest part for me. They went decidedly indie pop for a while there. For about 4 or 5 songs it was all pretty stock standard Triple J style fare. I almost lost hope for this boring 20 mins or so but soon the Bees were bumbling once again! Or something like that.In the last few songs they returned to exciting form and continued to play with the funk and dub genres but brought in a wonderful flavour that tasted like 60’s garage! This was most evident in their encore song, “Chicken Payback” which can only be described as farmyard rhythm and blues. It is such a well done, great sounding and fun song that I could feel the elation in the room as they played and everyone danced.I was truly impressed with this band for the most part. Very good musicians, great use of a Hammond organ, beautiful horns and great guitars and vocals. The most interesting thing about these guys is they have honed their skills and have become experts in not just one style of music but a few. And it’s not just a big mess of sound; they really know what they are doing. The Bees know when to hold and know when to fold. It is easy to see why there is such a buzz about them. Shit. Sorry. Couldn’t resist.

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