Live Review: Howlin' Steam Train, Papa Pilko & The Binrats, Rolling Blackouts

Openers for the evening are Rolling Blackouts, a pop three-piece who play a sweet blend of melodic, unfussy indie rock, perfectly warming us on this freezing Friday night. However it's a bit of a confusing set-up in this spectacular-but-unusual venue, the band performing something between a gig and background entertainment for diners. A curious choice considering the country-rock flavour of the two bands to follow, Rolling Blackouts nevertheless prove themselves to be smoothly solid, delightfully chordy openers.

The multi-hatted, Americana-influenced, raging six-piece Papa Pilko & The Binrats have happily mired themselves in the past. They're a genre-bending frenzy of old-western folk rock delving down the big-band route with elements of gospel and calypso. Cyrus Pilko's showmanship as the band's energetic frontman is completely contagious. With a rustic flair and familiarly pleasant Aussie lilt, Pilko demands the audience's attention with his tight jeans, booming vocals and theatrics. The Sydneysiders flaunt their 'foreignness', reminding us of their route down the Hume Highway. Theirs is a borderline evangelical blues aesthetic. The Binrats clearly love performing, wielding instruments from the double bass and the banjo to the sax and trombone, switching and swapping frequently. A particular stunner tonight is the jazzy, mariachi-influenced East Harlem: a tune that transports us with full swagger to a '50s speakeasy, jazz evidently being the perfect platform from which Pilko expresses his mild hatred of the police. 

Those familiar with Howlin' Steam Train's thumping whirlwind of rockabilly, blues, folk and country understand the full force of their live show and, despite the challenging odds in this sprawling venue, the band perpetually demands that their audience get down and boogie. Howlin' Steam Train open triumphantly with the rocky Chinatown off their newly launched Green Jelly EP, a finger-clicking, fast-paced number that sets the scene for a roaring, high-energy set. Fleshed out with harmonicas, Leigh Stone's forceful basslines and Matthew 'Boots' Stott's occasional tambourine thwacks, what really distinguishes Howlin' Steam Train as an exciting live act is Yan's thunderous drumming. He punches through the thigh-slapping set with incredible skill, power and animation. Throughout their performance, Howlin' Steam Train manage to get a sizable crowd squeezed together and dancing in front of the stage – the night proving to be a good old-fashioned hoe-down. It's on for young and old.