Live Review: Chook Race, Pageants & The Towelheads

The Towelheads are a few young guys from Geelong making the most of Australian racial stereoptyping and the instrumental surf rock origins of garage bands. They maniacally run through the Grace bandroom and onto the stage having donned their white sheets, fake beards and tea-towel headgear in the toilets. Their triple guitar attack works well as they trade complementary runs. But it is just as fun trying to work out whether to be offended or not as they request beers in atrocious accents. They break a string and bust an amp but it all seems to work in The Towelheads' favour.

Sound issues plague the first song from local sandal-gazers Pageants. After a bit of back-and-forth with the concerned sound guy things are rectified to a certain extent, though the band remain a little flat for the rest of the set. Despite this they are working from great source material, and those that recognise the songs from last year's Dark Before Blonde Dawn appreciate the performance. Footprints In The Sand manages to provide a worthy highlight before the night's main attraction hit the stage.

Fresh from launching their new Powernap cassette in Sydney after a bit of a hiatus, Chook Race seem happy to be back on the stage. The three-piece, uniformly dressed in the rock'n'roll staple of white tees and black jeans, kick-off their set with Relax, the opening cut from their new tape. Their guitar-pop sound is familiar to anyone who has attended local gigs in Melbourne recently, but while many other local bands loosely string their melodies together Chook Race keep it tight – the nimble bass work adding another dimension to each song rather than just padding out the band's sound. The band's casual presence coupled with the intimate feel of the gig leaves many with a smile on their faces as Chook Race play through a set that omits much of the attitude of their earlier material. The male-female vocal dynamic is key to the sound of the band. The best example comes during the chorus of Pop Song from their debut 7”, as a simple echo harmony works wonders for the “What do I say?” refrain.  An excellent night is capped off when the likeable trio pull-off a cover of classic Wire track Mannequin. Chook Race leave the stage as Richie 1250 takes to the decks, not too fussed about selling tapes but content to have played to an approving crowd.