Live Review: The Hot 8 Brass Band, Bullhorn

The wine stewards inside Coburg Town Hall impressively pour while holding left arms behind backs — classy touch even if the makeshift bar is a couple of trestle tables. Support band Bullhorn — a brass/rap combo comprising seven horn players, a drummer and MC — warm up the crowd and this is not your usual gig audience, which probably means Brunswick Music Festival successfully draws locals off couches for live music experiences. The more Roman MC's eyeballs bulge from sockets the faster he raps, but his rhymes are also indecipherable. This is a bit of a trade-off; maybe he should rein in the pace a tad so as not to sacrifice diction? Still, an impressive number of this mainly middle-aged demographic pogo on command and Bullhorn's enthusiasm is infectious.

Glancing around Coburg Town Hall, we can't help but think of final school dance scenes such as the one in Footloose. Repurposed venues are so hot right now, but nothing could be as hot as The Hot 8 Brass Band. After they take the stage we're thanked for coming out "in the middle of the week" and reminded to use the official band hashtag (#webrasshard) throughout the evening. The sound of band leader/founder Bennie Pete's sousaphone would be impossible to replicate and, as Papa Was A Rolling Stone's intro vibrates up through the soles of our feet, we hashtag our heads off. There's a lot of The Hot 8 Brass Band big-ups throughout and these guys are masters of conducting audience participation, demanding that the ladies scream, then the men, before all arms are directed left and right en masse. The song that features the lyrics, "You move it, you move it, you move it, you don't stop," loosens hips and our only complaint is that The Hot 8 Brass band don't leave the stage to move through the crowd and give us an authentic New Orleans second line parade experience.

Everyone wants to hear The Hot 8 Brass Band's version of Marvin Gaye's Sexual Healing and it certainly doesn't disappoint. Those on stage whose lips aren't required to bring the brass blasts lead our karaoke and there's some amorous action in the building. "This is not our home, but it's our house tonight!" one of The Hot 8 Brass Band encourages and the "how low can you go?" segment is attempted with varying levels of success, proving a workout for creaky, ageing knees. With a "peace and love" The Hot 8 Brass Band are off, leaving a whiff of some kinda wonderful in the air.