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Gig ReviewsReviews

[Review] Geoff Tate @ Croxton Bandroom, Melbourne 08/02/2023

It is a perfect Melbourne night as hundreds of punters stream into The Croxton Bandroom to see the most recognisable voice in progressive metal – Geoff Tate. It has been a few years since Geoff was here performing what is arguably the greatest concept album of all, Operation Mindcrime, in its entirety. Tonight’s offering was, Rage for Order and Empire, back-to-back which would be a sin to miss. The fans certainly voted with their hard earned, coming along for a night that knew no musical boundaries. Melbourne is the first stop for the tour and what a privilege to be the first to get our live music deprived ears acquainted with Mr Tate yet again. I took my spot front and centre and settled in for what would be a mind-blowing assault on the senses and God damn was I ready!  

Opening the nights proceedings were Melbourne four-piece metal outfit, Demonhead. After playing with Geoff in Europe late last year it was a given that they would get the coveted opening slot. I was instantly impressed with their ripping riffs and arse-kicking sound. They gave us a quick fire set of seven songs, each delivered with a new gut punch. It was clear from the moment they started they had fans in the crowd, lots of heads nodding in approval and singing along. Lead singer Dave was engaging with the crowd and certainly held their attention. Their sound is a good mix of thrash and your traditional metal, so if that is your thing go check them out. I picked up the vinyl edition of their latest offering Black Devil Lies on my way home and cannot wait to give it a spin!

The Croxton Bandroom was now buzzing with electricity, the voices were a little louder, the people a little sweatier as we counted the minutes until show time. The stage awash with a huge backdrop baring the name of the man himself Geoff Tate. As the house lights dropped the roar was deafening as the band took to the stage. It was the same line up as the Mindcrime show with only one new addition, Danny Laverde on Drums, who kept the show running like clockwork, never missing a beat. Let’s explore the rest of the band, they may be young, but they are seasoned professionals and have Geoff’s sound down to perfection. James Brown was on lead guitar shredding up a storm, Kieran Robertson, hailing from Glasgow, Scotland was a pocket rocket, he looked like a rock star and worked the stage like one. With funky hair, tattoos, and tight pants he was the epitome of cool and left no corner of the stage uncovered. My goodness, Jack Ross, also from Scotland, lit up the stage with his smile. Thoroughly enjoying every minute of his live time slapping his bass to within an inch of its life.  Nothing was overlooked on this tour, the lighting was top notch, the sound impeccable, kudos to all involved.

Enter the man, the myth, the legend, Geoff Tate, jumping straight into Rage for Order in its entirety. I asked Geoff ‘why Rage?’ in our last interview and his answer was “because I really wanted to” and I cannot think of a better reason. He worked through this dark album with such gusto and feeling, his voice in phenomenal form, never faltering all night, still hitting the high notes as he did in his prime. Stand outs for me from this album were Walk In The Shadows, Gonna Get Close to You, Surgical Strike and Screaming In Digital, but who am I kidding, every song was a stand out! To hear it from start to finish was a once in a lifetime experience and I am so glad I was a part of making history in Melbourne.  Geoff looked the epitome of cool in his patterned gold jacket, glasses and black Fedora, the hat coming on and off unlike the glasses which stayed tightly affixed all night.

After a short interval Geoff and the band were back, looking refreshed, sporting new threads and a new attitude. You could sense the darkness of Rage for Order had been checked at the door and the uplifting sounds of Empire were coming in hot. Geoff had a spring in his step as he launched into Best I Can, the crowd were lifting, and I could feel them creeping into my space, adrenaline pushing them forward wanting to get closer to their idol. Jet City Woman had the punters raising their voices to greet Geoff with a proper Melbourne sing-a-long and it did not go unnoticed. With no setlists needed Geoff joked when it was time to play Empire that he couldn’t remember the next song and asked us to remind him. We happily obliged as Geoff launched into the title track that set The Croxton alight. The masterpiece that is Silent Lucidity saw phone torches out and fans swaying while they sang, Geoff’s voice absolute perfection. Hand on Heart, One and Only and the amazing Anybody Listening? saw out Empire but still left us wanting more, all hungry for just ‘one more song’.

It didn’t take much chanting to bring the stage back to life and the familiar intro of Eyes of a Stranger had the band room in a frenzy. My singing voice was diminishing more by the second, could there be one more in the tank, we are all hopeful as screams rang out, and after a quick convo with the band they dive into Queen of The Reich almost raising the roof in the process, a definite fan favourite and perfect choice to finish out the night. Geoff’s screams hit with precision, each one delivered with chilling satisfaction, there was no place I would rather be, and I soaked up every second letting the songs of my youth wash over me feeling contentment radiating from within.   

With bows and waves goodbye from all, we were left to contemplate the enormity of what we had just witnessed, and I for one was already contemplating what albums might be next when we see Mr Tate return to our Australian shores.

You can still catch Geoff Tate one more time for this tour in Adelaide.

Thursday 10th Feb 2023 @ The Gov, Adelaide

Tickets available here

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InterviewsTour Interview

Interview with Geoff Tate (2023)

Legendary vocalist GEOFF TATE is coming back to Australia after his highly successful shows performing OPERATION MINDCRIME in its entirety back in pre-Covid 2020.

This time, Aussie fans are in for a real treat, GEOFF TATE and band will perform two classic QUEENSRŸCHE albums in their entirety, RAGE FOR ORDER and EMPIRE!

RAGE FOR ORDER:

RAGE FOR ORDER was more progressive than the band's previous releases, with a layered and complex musical structure that employed a two-guitar approach, but also brought keyboards forward in the mix. Lyrically, the album explored social/personal, political and technological themes, among others highlighting the dangers of artificial intelligence and government intrusion.

You will get to hear, live, classics like Walk In The Shadows, I Dream In Infrared, Killing Words, Surgical Strike, every song from the album… ALL classics!!!!

Then after a short break, you will hear QUEENSRŸCHE's most commercially successful release to date, the multi-platinum worldwide smash, EMPIRE.

EMPIRE:

EMPIRE is the fourth full-length studio album by QUEENSRŸCHE, released on August 20, 1990. The album stands as QUEENSRŸCHE‘s most commercially successful release, reaching triple-platinum status and the primary single, the power ballad Silent Lucidity, which reached number 1 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks and number 9 on the Billboard Hot 100. Silent Lucidity was also nominated for the Grammy Awards of 1992 in the categories Best Rock Song and Best Rock Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group.

Also hear other timeless tracks live such as Jet City Woman, Empire, Anybody Listening… the whole album, start to finish.

This will be a once in a lifetime experience for Australian fans… this won’t happen again. This will sell fast!

 

GEOFF TATE February 2023 Australian Tour Dates

Wednesday 8 February – MELBOURNE – Croxton

Thursday 9 February – SYDNEY – Manning

Friday 10 February – ADELAIDE – The Gov

 

LIMITED VIP MEET & GREET WITH GEOFF TATE, includes:

– Early access to the show and merch stand

– Get a photo on your phone/device with Geoff Tate

– Australian tour poster to get signed by Geoff Tate

– Exclusive VIP lanyard/laminate

– Bring along 2 personal items to get signed

VIP TICKET INCLUDES ENTRY TO THE SHOW

Don’t miss seeing one of the most iconic voices of our Metal/Rock generation – Mr Geoff Tate.

TICKETS AND INFO:

WWW.HARDLINEMEDIA.NET

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Gig ReviewsReviews

[Review] Nashville Pussy @ Northcote Social Club, Melbourne 8/12/2022

The following content may be inappropriate for minors and people with a stick up their arse. Warning: high level tongue in cheek sexual innuendo.

What the hell did you expect?

Nashville Pussy was in town and I was there to lap it all up. So screw the foreplay and let’s muff-dive on in.

The Black Tides are the dynamic duo of Adam OConnor aka Red & Annette Sa. They have a sound that can be best described as, if Motörhead fucked the White Stripes and gave birth to a four-armed baby. Despite them being a two-piece band consisting of Red on Bass and Vocals and Annette on Drums and backing vocals, they had an incredibly full sound. A large part of this can be credited to Red’s intelligent use of effects and writing riffs and licks that covered the full sonic spectrum usually only heard from a larger band. The brilliant chemistry between the two members also contributed towards their show stopping performance, combined with playful tongue in cheek banter within the band and with audiences. A quote from Red: “Annette’s applause was bigger, like her genitals.” In my opinion poetically sums up the attitude and fun of seeing them live.

Their set even included a Punk Rock cover of Royals by Lorde – a song that I had previously paid no attention to, but now enjoyed it in its new incarnation.

Love, love, love this band and look forward to seeing them again.

Mammoth Mammoth entered the stage with all the intensity and charisma of pro-wrestling. Frontman Mikey Tucker spewed water from his mouth across the stage like an angry geyser whilst drummer, Frank ‘Bones’ Trobbiani was like a force of nature, pummeling and dominating his drum kit. Mammoth Mammoth have a presence that don’t merely request that you pay heed, but instead put you in a headlock and demand your attention. As a frontman, Mikey Tucker certainly has an assertive and compelling aura that surrounds him, whether he’s striding amidst the crowd or laying on the stage as guitarist, Ben ‘Cuz’ Couzens rests a leg on him while shredding out a solo.

Despite their hawkish demeanor, Mammoth Mammoth are a bunch of guys who love what they do and have a hell of a time doing it.

Closing the set with a song about Paul Stanley’s Penis (Love Gun by KISS) was the perfect cherry on the top of this whiskey-drenched cake of a set.

Self described as “Bigger than Jesus, louder than hell.” I’m most certainly inclined to agree.

To be hailed as “America’s last great Rock and Roll band” by the legendary Lemmy Kilmister of Motörhead, is incredibly high praise to live up to – and Nashville Pussy did not disappoint.

If Nashville Pussy were a meal, they would be Nashville hot chicken. Riffs that had a southern fried crunch, bathed in a voice like the finest hot sauce. Yes, it burns but god damn it tastes so good you keep coming back for more.

Ruyter Suys (pronounced “Rider Sighs”) guitarist of the band absolutely blew me away. She had the wild abandon and tenacity of players like Rory Gallagher and Angus Young, tearing into the fretboard as they opened the set with Struttin’ Cock.

Frontman Blaine Cartwright, sang with the ferocity of a crazed preacher man. Maintaining the intensity throughout their monstrous 17-song set which included songs like, She Keeps Me Coming and I Keep Going Back, Pillbilly Blues, Till the Meat Falls Off the Bone and the very educational, Pussy’s Not a Dirty Word.

Backed by Bonnie Buitrago on Bass and Ben Thomas on Drums, they performed like Energizer bunnies on speed.

Often as bands get older they exhibit signs that age is catching up with them but this could not be further from the truth with Nashville Pussy. They have not only beaten the hands of time, but it appears that they have straight out broken them and have lost none of their mojo.

For an encore, Blaine Cartwright gave us invaluable advice: “Don’t listen to all the people telling you what you should believe, the only thing you need to know, is that everyone just has to Keep on Fucking.

As the band hit the last chords in their epic finale, Ruyter Suys baptized the front row in beer, then proceeded to play her guitar with the empty can and in a jaw-dropping display of pure Rock n’ Roll, she literally ripped the strings right off her guitar!

Nashville Pussy are a band that must be experienced live, and I for one, cannot wait to see them again.

Stadium shows are spectacular but the underground club gigs and bands with a cult following, hold an extra special place in my heart.

All the bands tonight clearly displayed the influence and inspiration that the mighty Motörhead has gifted to the world of Rock n’ Roll. If Lemmy could have seen this show I’m pretty sure he’d raise a glass of Jack and Coke in approval.

You can still catch them at the following shows

Sat 10th Dec – Wollongong – La La La’s

Mon 12th Dec – Sydney – Crowbar

Limited VIP Meet & greet packages available.

 GET YOUR TICKETS HERE >> https://hardlinemedia.net/nashville-pussy

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