Gasoline Inc
EP launch, The Rosemount Hotel
Jan 22, 2010

Gasoline Inc pulled out all the stops for their debut EP launch party: Video cameras filmed Beautiful Young Things, rockers mingled with pretty girls, the local fake-tanned groupies preened along the red carpet, and the capacity crowd rocked out to some great music.

We missed Bronze opening the night in the sweaty Rosie due to lingering over a meal of Szechuan beef & deep-fried milk (sorry guys, we’ll make it up to you next time), but the word on the streets was that they turned in a fine performance, and with their own CD launch coming up soon, their hard rocking sounds are well worth a listen.

Sleaze rock bogans Thrust took no prisoners with a belligerent assault that referenced a hybrid of hopped up early Crue and a speedy Guns n’ Roses with raspy drunken Phil Lewis (L.A. Guns) vocals. They are rough, ready and raw as fuck, scared a large proportion of the “Beautiful people” who were there only to be seen, and proved they will be a band to keep an eye on as they single-handedly provide Perth’s answer to the Global Sleaze Metal Explosion. A New Wave Of Perth Sleaze? I’ll be there for that, if they have more songs of the calibre of ‘You Can’t Feel Me Now’!

Lazz, Ant & Lex Thrust

Kudos to singer Ant for his tireless cajoling to get the crowd involved, and for his completely irony-free sporting of a circa-87 bandana, and young drummer Laz, attacking his kit like a stampeding bull elephant on cowbell-appreciation day – even though we thought it was illegal for an opening act to do a drum solo, this young fella pulled it off with the panache of a pack of street thugs beating up a Granny.

After a charity guitar auction which raised $5,000 from the sale of an axe signed by AC/DC, and the de riguer introductions, Gasoline Inc walked onstage and instantly took command of proceedings. They may be new to the stage – this was only their ninth gig as a band - but Gasoline Inc have most of the pieces of their band puzzle in place from the word go.

Gabriel O’Brien is a frontman with genuine charisma, drive, and a voice to rival Jon Bon Jovi’s. The rest of the band are no slouches either – guitarists Andro & Sufo weave a heady brew while the rhythm section of drummer Zoran and new boy bassist Jason are already rock solid.

The setlist featured all four songs from the EP, including personal favourite ‘Nicotine + Love’ and ‘Superstar’ – already a TV favourite for major sporting events. New song ‘Shedding My Skin’ is perhaps even better than the EP’s tracks, ‘Friend of The Devil’ has some funk and soul about it, reminiscent of the Dan Reed Network, and a rollicking Rolling Stones medley (complete with Sufo’s Stones Lips logo guitar) pleased the rapturous capacity crowd.

After the band’s triumphant set finished they cleaned up and mingled with the crowd while Dave Gillam entertained the stragglers with some raw and engaging acoustic blues – a very clever way of finishing the show and allowing the spotlight to be on the band for a while longer.

The band are tight, sound slick and are impeccably well-rehearsed, and just need need to work up a few more great songs before regular headlining gigs and national or international support slots will follow. For now they are a solid new hard rock band - commercial and enthusiastic, a little like Bon Jovi when they cared more about music than money.

Tonight was all about Gasoline Inc, and they threw one hell of a party for their debut release, proving they are among the brightest hopes for local rock n’ roll.

Setlist

NICOTINE & LOVE
FRIEND OF THE DEVIL
THE MAN BEHIND THE MAN
MUSIC IS MY RELIGION
THE QUATRAINS
DIRTY 3
STONES MEDLEY
SHEDDING MY SKIN
DYNAMITE
BUTTERFLY
SUPERSTAR

Gasoline Inc meet The Rockpit - Gab, Mark, Trulie, Shane, Andro & Sufo after the show

Shane Rockpit