The Big Pink

The Big Pink take their name from the debut album by The Band, but their there is nothing country rock about these guys at all.

This band is all about big anthemic riffs and blazing feedback, and even though they only have one album, A Brief History of Love, by tonight's performance they seemed as if they were veterans.

The lead singer Robbie Furze's haunting vocals reminded me of Richard Ashcroft at times but without the ego. He climbed speaker stacks and tried to raise a little bit of enthusiasm from the rather bored crowd, except for the few people who were bouncing around as if it was their first gig they had ever been too.

Pretty much all the album was played tonight and from what I was told they did a cover of an Otis Redding track but I didn't recognize it at all. For a band who gets signed to the legendary label 4AD on their first album, you know it is going to be something special.

The Big Pink are definately a live band, not an album band. That's not to say the album is bad, it's just that the band offer more in a live setting.

'Dominos' is one of those songs that you cant help but sing-a-long to. It gets stuck in your head for weeks and I've found myself singing it on a daily basis in the shower, in the class room, when I'm bored, and even on the bus.

This is the appeal of the band, when they played it last night it really seemed like an effort for the crowd to get involved, but then again this is a typical response of most Melbourne gigs.

The crowd was littered with RRR personalities and I saw DJ Spooky bolt through mass at one stage.

For such a young band I'd be pretty pleased with myself if someone like him came to check my set.

If you're going to Golden Plains on the weekend make sure to be front and center when The Big Pink rip up the stage.

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