Live Review: The Barking Spiders, The Dead Love

It's a dream slot for a band that is still growing its fanbase to support a band that has such a huge following.

The Dead Love got a chance to be exposed to a whole new audience at the Enmore and they made the most of it. Ripping through a bunch of songs from their catalogue would probably have gone quickly for them, but it was appreciated by the growing crowd. Latest songs Sugarcoat and Ordinary sounded great in this big room, which they certainly didn't seem out of place in.

Traditionally, The Barking Spiders were a secret. They would only come out for a gig, coincidentally, just before a Cold Chisel tour in the '80s. So, it's only on a rare occasion that anyone has seen them, which is just one reason why tonight's sold-out gig at the Enmore was something special.

In a world where old rockers are dropping off the twig at an alarming rate, we have to appreciate artists from generations past that are still kicking on and performing, especially when they still sound as amazing as Jimmy Barnes does. With the way that Barnesy sings, you would be excused for assuming he'd lost his voice a long time ago. And if you knew his history, you'd be excused for being amazed that he's still on this planet at all.

When the old gang of Barnes, Ian Moss and Don Walker, plus Phil Small (bass) and Charley Drayton (drums) get together, there's an electricity. This was history, right there on the stage in front of us. Through all of the lambasting, the 'boganisation' and ockerness of them, Cold Chisel were, and still are, an amazing group of musicians. It only takes us hearing the the second song, Standing On The Outside, to remember what outstanding songwriters they are.

We go back to 1978 with Home And Broken Hearted and we realise this is no ordinary Chisel show; they are pulling the classics out. As they're represented by a humorous moniker (look it up), Barnes declared, "I don't know when The Barking Spiders did their last gig, but I made the mistake of telling my wife what a barking spider is". 

Rising Sun, My Baby and Saturday Night were all there, along with a smattering of newish material like All For You and No Plans. It was the bluesy jams that took us back. The chance to see Barnes wrap his arm around Moss while he absolutely smashed a guitar solo is the stuff of bucket lists.

David Blight (harmonica) and Andy Bickers (sax) added to the ensemble sublimely, creating an almost rockabilly sound at times with Walker's honty-tonk encouraging the, what can only be described as mostly Baby Boomers, audience to wave their hands awkwardly in the air. While it's easy to poke fun, the vibe and good nature of the crowd was great to see. 

We got three encores. "We were hoping to sneak up on you with a gig, but we weren't trying to be arseholes. We realised there's a lot of songs we haven't played," declared Barnes as they kicked into the hit-laden final segment. When The War Is Over, Breakfast At Sweethearts, Choir Girl and Cheap Wine. Is there any more iconic ending to a gig? Okay, they ended with the bluesy Don’t Let Go, but we’ll excuse them their indulgence.

The last day of summer in 2018 will be remembered for not only being hot as hell in the Enmore but also hot from an iconic group that everyone in the theatre will certainly remember, right up to their dying day.