Calling All Cars, The Sinking Teeth, The Love Junkies @ The Corner Hotel, Melbourne (24/04/2014)
While the cold weather seeps in over Melbourne, The Corner Hotel remained warm and somewhat sweaty for the official album launch of Melbourne's very own Calling All Cars. The trio's latest album, 'Raise The People', was released last month and with this being their last hometown show for a while, there was a large amount of buzz surrounding tonight. But before the Ing brother's and bassist Adam Montgomery played, the nights two opening bands, The Sinking Teeth and Perth's The Love Junkies had some time with the audience.
Both bands do a great job of entertaining the crowds early on. The Sinking Teeth seemed more welcoming and looked comfortable on stage in their hometown than their following support. The band make jokes, are cool and relaxed, and have a great punk rock sound, which sounds like a mix of Ceres and The Menzingers. The Love Junkies put on a good show with their grunge inspired sound, but their blues-like, dissonant riffs and thrashy drumming gets a bit old as their set goes on.
Coming on to Elvis Presley's 'Heartbreak Hotel', Calling All Cars have most of the crowd eating out of the palm of their hand. With newer songs like 'Werewolves' and pumping new single 'Raise The People', the crowd responds accordingly. Vocalist/guitarist Haydn Ing is enthusiastic and energetic throughout the whole set. His vocals were a little higher than they are on their albums, but he rarely missed or faltered on notes. However, it's drummer James Ing, who is on top of his game behind the kit. He's fast, tight and he played with real vigour throughout the night.
Some songs from 2011's 'Dancing With A Dead Man' make an appearance as well. 'Worlds Collide' and 'She's Delirious' get good reactions and they sounded great live. But it's not until later into their set that they play one of their biggest hits, 'Reptile'. This was obviously going to be featured in the set and once that opening drum fill started, it really got the bulk of the crowd moving. Ing also covered himself in nearly a full bottle of red wine at one point between verses, which just added to the intensity of their set.
Older tracks like 'Disconnect' and 'Run Away' went down really well, especially the chaotic number of 'Animal'. This saw Ing going berserk on stage before he proceeded to stage dive, shortly crowd surf, make his way over to the bar, grab a quick drink off a fan, and then back to the stage for yet another stage dive. Nick from The Sinking Teeth made a quick appearance as he filled in on guitar while Ing made his way around the venue and stage. Furthermore, the trio also got some massive sing alongs for another oldie, 'Not Like Anybody', which still has a strong Three Days Grace vibe to it.
Ending the set with their fantastic cover of 'Psycho Killer' and their most recent single, 'Standing in the Ocean', Calling All Cars went from a good start to great end during their hour long set. As the audience spills out of The Corner with content ears ringing, everyone hopes that the Melbourne-based trio won't be away from home too long.
Alex Sievers
Both bands do a great job of entertaining the crowds early on. The Sinking Teeth seemed more welcoming and looked comfortable on stage in their hometown than their following support. The band make jokes, are cool and relaxed, and have a great punk rock sound, which sounds like a mix of Ceres and The Menzingers. The Love Junkies put on a good show with their grunge inspired sound, but their blues-like, dissonant riffs and thrashy drumming gets a bit old as their set goes on.
Coming on to Elvis Presley's 'Heartbreak Hotel', Calling All Cars have most of the crowd eating out of the palm of their hand. With newer songs like 'Werewolves' and pumping new single 'Raise The People', the crowd responds accordingly. Vocalist/guitarist Haydn Ing is enthusiastic and energetic throughout the whole set. His vocals were a little higher than they are on their albums, but he rarely missed or faltered on notes. However, it's drummer James Ing, who is on top of his game behind the kit. He's fast, tight and he played with real vigour throughout the night.
Some songs from 2011's 'Dancing With A Dead Man' make an appearance as well. 'Worlds Collide' and 'She's Delirious' get good reactions and they sounded great live. But it's not until later into their set that they play one of their biggest hits, 'Reptile'. This was obviously going to be featured in the set and once that opening drum fill started, it really got the bulk of the crowd moving. Ing also covered himself in nearly a full bottle of red wine at one point between verses, which just added to the intensity of their set.
Older tracks like 'Disconnect' and 'Run Away' went down really well, especially the chaotic number of 'Animal'. This saw Ing going berserk on stage before he proceeded to stage dive, shortly crowd surf, make his way over to the bar, grab a quick drink off a fan, and then back to the stage for yet another stage dive. Nick from The Sinking Teeth made a quick appearance as he filled in on guitar while Ing made his way around the venue and stage. Furthermore, the trio also got some massive sing alongs for another oldie, 'Not Like Anybody', which still has a strong Three Days Grace vibe to it.
Ending the set with their fantastic cover of 'Psycho Killer' and their most recent single, 'Standing in the Ocean', Calling All Cars went from a good start to great end during their hour long set. As the audience spills out of The Corner with content ears ringing, everyone hopes that the Melbourne-based trio won't be away from home too long.
Alex Sievers