Wagons

Last night was my first time I had seen Wagons and I don’t really know why, because the gig was a rollicking, rocking, shindig. Wagons fans cannot be categorised by any means, so the crowd was full of eclectic Melbourne weirdos and hipsters, there were people wearing Cannibal Corpse t-shirts to people wearing Einstuerzende Neubauten, so if you think you can judge an act from the crowd who attends the show, you are sorely mistaken, I was trying to think what a death metal fan would see in a band like Wagons, because there isn't anything remotely deathly or sinister about Wagons at all: not in their lyrics or in their style, but I suppose that is just the appeal this band has.

Tonight was the launch for the new Wagons album called The Rise and Fall of GoodTown. The album has been highly touted and rightly so; it's an album of vintage country tunes with tongue firmly planted in cheek; it's full of songs about busted relationships and ballads about landscapes of the beautiful land.

Between each song lead singer Henry Wagons would give the songs intros and banter with the audience; he was self deprecating and amusing throughout the show and his sense of humour is what helped keep the show connected with the audience. He would tell tales of the crap he has endured being on the road (one of the funnier anecdotes he shared with the audience was how much it pissed him off being stuck in the tour van with five other blokes, having to stop all the time for food or having to put up with other peoples shit taste in music)

All these stories made Henry all the more relatable and all the more engaging. Quite a number of tracks of the new album were played, the title track was kept until last and the audience were well into it.

One of the most bizarre parts of the show was when Henry took a break and two of the other band members did a improv hip-hop number. I’m not sure how well it went down with the audience; me, personally, thought it was a little off-kilter to work, but that just added to the weird vibe of the show.

Wagons are off to tour the rest of our shitty country, according to Henry; make an effort to catch them next time they’re rolling into town.

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