Live Review: The John Steel Singers, Jeremy Neale, Primitive Motion

A jam-packed Black Bear Lodge signals the anticipation of electric guitars and screeching vocals, courtesy of The John Steel Singers and Jeremy Neale, while the naturalism of raw instrumentals to come was heightened by the Lodge's signature craft beers and mounted deer heads.

But, only so much craft beer can save you from Primitive Motion. Brutally killing the mood, the middle-aged duo attempt to satiate brimming Black Bear goers, but their severed electronica is nothing but nails on a chalkboard. And Leighton Craig's somewhat prophetic yet daggy T-shirt reading “real bad music” aptly sums the mess up. Let's be blunt: it was more exciting applying lipstick than listening to the incessant cries of “I am elemental”, words that will stick to this reviewer's brain like superglue. A previously lively crowd dwindles back to the bar and retreats to the intimate corners in search of solace from criminal noise. 

With a dulled mood, high hopes for the night plummet, but instant relief comes as the final oscillation rang out. An awaited changeover and quick soundcheck brings a necessary resuscitation. The buzz is back! Bounding onto the stage with much needed enthusiasm, the six scruffy men comprising The John Steel Singers illuminate the crowd and transform the zombie mass into a bouncing collective, guiding them with electric strums and reverberant bass. Intensifying their performance with steady foot-stomps, The John Steel Singers play through their new album Everything's A Thread to eager ears, with songs Common Thread and Happy Before spurring free-spirited dancing to match their psychedelia. Raspy, raw, and krautrock-inspired, the falsetto-laden vocals are loud and penetrable to the bone, sparking an inevitable electric current from head to toe. Although perhaps too loud to the point of drowned out lyrics, making singing along a near impossibility, the sweet brassy licks of the trombone kick the show into sixth gear. Closing with big single Overpass, which serves as the cherry cake topper to a sweet and tight show, The John Steel Singers reinvigorate the night and set the audience afire for Jeremy Neale.

A seriously awesome co-headliner only living up to the “Boys Gone Wild” title, Neale takes an already hyped up audience and makes us ecstatic! Providing the turbo to The John Steel Singers, Jeremy Neale continues with retro-inspired instrumentals, bringing to mind a contemporised blend of old school Buddy Holly and The Monkees. A punchy performance promoting his latest EP In Stranger Times ensures the fun Friday night on the town we all invariably hope for. Neale woos the crowd with his wonderfully idyllic vocals, ironically set against his voltage charged band, before Swing Left sends the audience into overdrive, capping the night off with a bang.