Live Review: Fait Accompli

The Dead Beat Band's (of the Gold Coast) super low-fi rock was not afraid to shy away from a hook (and keeping it going) - you might say the band suffers from monotony but when you've got a good thing going, why stop - plus a good size audience were there to greet the three-piece too, despite them being on early.

The small stage then played host to rockers Papercrane and wow, where to start? I'm not sure how these guys got on the bill, and yes, everyone should be given a chance, but these guys fell way short of an inspiring performance, let alone anything that resembled potential. A small crew showed lots of enthusiasm and sure, the singer could hold a note, but it was all disjointed, sometimes out of time and the covers of In The Pines and the White Stripes' Hotel Yorba were woeful.

Three-piece garage rock band Bang Bang Rock 'n' Roll had a moment between songs to relay to everyone that they drank all of Andrew WK's booze during a recent support show, but kept up the momentum, bashing through a number of tracks which were notable for their naivety and pomp, sort of similar to Sydney counterparts Bloods.

Former south-coast inhabitants The Chitticks boom surf rock and while their QOTSA influences were obvious, there was also a prominent BRMC funk via the lead-man who sported a leather jacket and an epic set of sideburns that you could throw over them mountains.

Chicks Who Love Guns showed why they are one of the more exciting bands to emerge from the Sydney scene in the past couple of years, with their perpetual time-warp '90s-today sounds on show. They tend to shun the easy road to pop in favour of cynicism and self-deprecation and nothing says this more then the balls out screaming of God, Love And Satan. Easily one of the best live tunes to get a run on the 'dale stage in a while.

Udays Tiger's recipe was progressive and sounded bigger than the two people on stage making the music. With only hints of blues reserved for most two-pieces these days, the band did well to get the last song through despite having their mic's cut, however it was unclear whether this was because they had outstayed their welcome.

Fair Accompli have a new EP which was cause for the night's party. The current line-up compared to past incarnations has leant itself to a heavier sound overall thanks to a massive rhythm section, in particular drummer Skarlett's punishment of the skins. All was on display in spades and although it's going to take some getting used to the new songs, the crowd reaction to newbie No Great Expectations showed the wait won't take that long.

Regardless of what's been happening behind the scenes (threatened closures, legal action, noise complaints and toilet graffiti), The Annandale Hotel continues to do what it does best by playing host to awesome (and not-so-awesome) live music.