Dallas Crane + Tim Rogers and the Temperance Union + 67 Special

It was upon a slightly chilly night that I happed to catch first engagement of the St Kilda stopover of the ‘On the Beach’ tour. The touring line up of Dallas Crane, Tim Rogers and the Temperance Union and Cannon have been laying waste to seaside townships for nigh on a month now. For this engagement, Cannon have been given the night off, making way for 67 Special to slay the crowd with their stage heroics and catchy riffs. Very rarely do you see a band throw themselves so completely into their performance. They don’t write a bad rock song either. Therefore, I was particularly keen to see their set. Unfortunately for me, and my basic inefficiency I only managed to arrive in time for ‘Hey There Bomb’ and ‘Walking Away’. The ready dancing and fist-pumping of the crowd proved to me that I had missed another great show.

Next cab off the rank was one of my personal fave’s Tim Rogers and the Temperance Union. Having been a regular partaker of Tim Rogers and The Temperance Union since been blown away by them after seeing support Dallas Crane about a year ago, I can make the educated statement that their shows of late have been touch and go. Musically they are always sharp and no one can question Tim Roger’s uncanny ability at penning incredible songs filled with raw emotion, spine-tingling melodies and ear-crunching riffs. Its not the music that determines whether I am going to be in ecstasy or agony; Its Tim Rogers. As Rogers is such a charismatic front man, his mood on the night is always going to determine how the crowd reacts. I have been at shows where his sheer exuberance has caused the edges of my mouth to remain in an upward tilt for days and I have also been at shows where his thinly veiled menace has forced me to retreat to the bar. As for tonight, I was relieved to see Roger’s in an upbeat mood, readily joking with the crowd and playing with vigour.

Tonight’s set list begins with some of the slower numbers from the TU’s catalogue including ‘Paperboy’, ‘Ghost Songs’, ‘The Songs They Played as I Drove Away’, ‘Wild One’ before moving into rockier territory with ‘I’d Rather be Krund’, ‘Do It Again’, ‘My Brother’s Room’, ‘Dumb’ and ending the set with an absolutely cranking version of MC5’s classic ‘Kick out the Jams’. I was slightly disappointed to have been denied some of my favourites such as ‘Who You Settin’ Up Your House For’ and ‘Letter to Gene’ However, with a band with a set list so expansive in such a short time, one cannot really complain with a little variety.

Dallas Crane is a band that I can never fault. In my humble estimation they are indeed Australia’s hardest working band. I have been fortunate to see them on several occasions and each time I am even more impressed by their virtuosity, stage presence and cohesion as a singular unit, tonight’s show was certainly no exception. Having been around the Melbourne scene for nearly a decade, Dallas Crane has rightfully earned the respect of punters and muso’s alike. A further testament to this was watching various members of 67 Special watching the set awestruck from backstage.

As for the set list DC played numerous tracks off last year’s eponymous offering including as well as offering a few new tracks, including the rifftastic ‘Lovers and Sinners’ which has recently been seeing steady rotation on JJJ.
The steady chanting of ‘Dallas, Dallas, Dallas’ at the end of the show left no doubt that the crowd was rightfully impressed by tonight’s stellar line up. In my opinion we need more tours like ‘On The Beach’. For under $30 you can see three incredible local bands and have your faith in Australian music restored at the same time. We have incredible talent in this country and I would encourage everyone, before buying that CD or shelling out $100 for that grandstand ticket for an overseas act, look at the talent we have here and recoil in awe.

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