Live Review: The Beasts, The Johnnys, Eagle Eye Jones

The bluesy rock of Eagle Eye Jones was a suitable way to start a night of old school rock‘n’roll. The Sydney four-piece combined funk groove and attention-grabbing guitar solos. There was a lot to like about the group and the crowd, albeit small for the start, were appreciative.

1982 was probably high school days for most of the audience and that’s when The Johnnys started out. The sad death of Spencer P Jones affected more than just the headliners, with The Johnnys now down to a three-piece, but the rollicking 'cow-rock’ that they produce is still loud and raw.

Bassist and lead singer Graham Hood was in good spirits – swilling a VB in between tracks and producing cheeky banter for the audience. “Let’s make some rock‘n’roll for you darling cunts!” was certainly one way to start a set. The music, consisting of mostly short punk rock, with a country twinge, was paired with cowboy hats from the band.

This is a bittersweet tour for the band that decided to chop the “Of Bourbon” from the title, out of respect for the two members that have passed away. The passing of Brian Hooper was the impetus for the reunion that occurred last year and the aforementioned Jones passed just after the recording of The Beasts album, Still Here. It’s a suitable title and one that reminds us that the band are still extremely good at what they do.

“This one’s for Brian,” declared Tex Perkins as the band jumped into the opening track of the show and the album, On My Back. Low Road was the first older song the band rolled out, but it was to be a rarity through the set, with mostly tracks from the new album played.

Mostly deciding to just roll from song to song with little banter, the band let their music do the talking. The chance to see Charlie Owen and Kim Salmon trading guitar riffs, solos and grooves was a big highlight of the evening. The cover of Warren Zevon’s My Shit’s Fucked Up settled in the swampy groove they do so well and Perkins was at his crooning best.

“This is the last song Spencer P Jones ever wrote,” announced Perkins before At The Hospital, a slow-burner of a track giving bassist Boris Sujdovic and drummer Tony Pola the opportunity to drive the song at their own pace while the guitarists did their thing over the top.

The main set was rounded out with Drop Out from The Beasts Of Bourbon’s debut album in 1984, but encore tracks, Hope You Find Your Way To Heaven and Frank Zappa’s The Torture Never Stops, showed the band's diversity, as they slowly worked their way to the finale of Execution Day.

If you were hoping for a retrospective performance, the show might not have been for you, but if you were looking to see the new direction the remaining members of the beloved pub-rock band were taking, the show was everything you’d want. Tex Perkins is still a charismatic frontman, even without the chat and the band are every bit the professionals on stage. Still Here and still making great music.