SCORCHERFEST II
THE ROSEMOUNT
PERTH
SUNDAY 20th MARCH 2011

FEATURING: MUDGUTS, WAITING FOR ANDY, HAILMARY, AMBERDOWN

PALTIVA, SOMETHING FUZZY & MANY MORE...

Scorcherfest is a great day out, and my only regret is getting there later on in the day and missing a few bands I’d been curious to see, but even in the world of rock prior commitments sometimes get in the way of a damn good day out. I’m not going to get into the whole structure of the event I’ll leave that to the forums, I’ll just say that the mix of bands is eclectic and some of the younger bands can only benefit from the opportunity to get out on stage and in front of a good sized crowd that they may otherwise not get the chance to do.

The first band we see is Amberdown who we saw at the first Scorcherfest event and mistakenly identified as Juwana (how that happened is a long story). We like them very much and they have a much larger crowd this time round and from what I see the crowd enjoy it just as much as we do!

It’s hard to pigeon-hole the sound but Amberdown manage to meld a heap of seemingly disparate influences that include an equal portion of melodic nu metal and eighties rock harmonies. It’s definitely post grunge but harks back to an era before plaid shirts took over the world and the guitar is as much eighties rock as it is anything else. One things for sure the songs do the talking!  

Despite not getting to play my favourite track from last Scorcherfest ‘Taken Over’ due to time constraints the set includes gems like ‘From the Inside’ which is hugely catchy, and there’s a tinge of thrash on ‘I Forgot to Mention’ which is sung by lead guitarist Jason Glatzer. Lead vocalist Daniel James Connell has a great rapport with the crowd and a fine vice and the band is completed by the enthusiastic backline of bassist Azfar Zubri and drummer Marc Lennon. Second last song ‘The Fall’ has a great groove and rolls along beautifully whilst closer ‘Free’ is very Metallica and even generates some stage diving. A band to watch.

Elsewhere away from the main stage we manage to catch the end of an enjoyable set by a new band well worth checking out – Paltiva who come across as the post grunge answer to Motorhead.  

Hailmary is modern rock at its best, deliciously heavy riffs and Nirvana meets Silverchair vocals. They put on a great set and I must admit that this being the first time I had seen them I was very impressed, it was just a shame that the room had emptied out a bit by then as anyone not there missed a chance to see a pretty cool show.

With a set-list made up of their staples: Live it breathe it; Self (destructive) made man; You ain’t the man; Wake up; Running away; Bringing out the best; Control freak and storming closer: Good to go. Hailmary is definitely a band to check out if you like a sound full of groove-laden heavy riffs. And by the sound of it they already have the songs to take a good few steps in the right direction. I’m watching with a couple of guys who haven’t seen the band for a while and hadn’t been too enthused in the past, but tonight changes all of that.

Out in the garden we manage a few songs from ‘Something Fuzzy’ who are enjoyable enough, a little light-on but maybe trying too hard for late Kinks cool. I think there front-man/ guitarist must have some Ray Davies in his collection and that can’t be a bad thing, and maybe a band to keep tabs on.

On of the bands we’d been keen to see again was local blues-based rockers Waiting for Andy who has wisely chosen to headline out in the Garden where its cooler and the crowd are captive! After seeing them a couple of times now I’ve seen them grow their own identity but tonight there’s a bigger leap forward.  

With a shortened set they chose their songs wisely. ‘Wild One’ tonight goes down particularly well and you can see from the off that there has been a change in dynamic in the band, Mick taking a little step back to allow Amber and her wonderful voice come to the fore. She sounds rawer, and asserts herself on the small stage, but it’s also the sound of the band too that seems more powerful.

It’s a great set from a band that you really should check out the arrangements have developed, the sound is spot on and Amber seems far more animated and even though she doesn’t yet seem completely comfortable she could be a great front-woman with a few more shows under her belt, she is already a great singer.

Note to band: Never leave your tambourine laying around in case a girl in a red dress steals it and gets up to join you. I never realized you could play tambourine so badly! But at least she enjoyed herself!

The night and the set ends with Nobody's Fool one of W4A’s most striking songs. We’re very impressed and will have to head out to Freo one Sunday soon to catch them at the regular slot at The Orient. 

Inside the Rosie Mudguts is dirty rock and roll for lovers of dirty rock and roll.  Live these guys are sheer heavy metal for those who like it raw. With a set peppered with staples like I.C.A. Deadman, Fistfull (Of Knuckles), Strange Situation, Half Mongrel, 2 Dozen Roses, 10 Stops (Unbroken), Mirrorman and Song For The Gods you really have to see these guys live to get what it’s all about.

I can assure you these guys won’t be to everyone’s taste but that’s why we like them: talking insane quantities of Accept, Sabbath, AC/DC and a host of other outcasts you can hear everything from Metal, Hard Rock, Punk, Blues, Southern Rock and a bit of Prog too in an ungodly cocktail of noise. If you thought you’d never bang you head again then this might be the band to get you nodding.

Many thanks to the venue and Andrew and Karen for organising everything.

Mark Diggins