Live Review: Thee Gold Blooms, Electric Toad, Rum Jungle

Thee Gold Bloom's gig at The Bird boasted a variety of sounds; from the pleasing hard-rock rhythms of Rum Jungle to the theatrical antics of Electric Toad. Although the venue at The Bird was small, limiting the stage size for the performers, that actually added a somewhat cosier atmosphere for punters, adding something unique to the performance. Rum Jungle started off their set providing of some hard-rock anthems that eased the crowd into a reposed mood. Once Rum Jungle had finished their set, a large crowd of musicians started to materialise on the stage. At first it was presumed this would be the standard four-piece rock band with perhaps a few supporters to carry the equipment and help set up. But this was not the case; each and every person on stage was a band member. Electric Toad turned out to be a conglomeration of hard-rock musicians from different bands around Perth. Fronted by the caffeine-fuelled lead singer of garage-rock outfit Doctopus, with the inclusion of rock, a multitude of lead and rhythm guitarists and the almost humorous insertion of Auto-Tune, a certainly entertaining experience was created.

With the surfboards hanging from the walls of The Bird and punters donning sailor's uniforms from the ANZAC commemorations, you could say Thee Gold Blooms were in their element, with an almost oceanic aesthetic permeating from the venue. But this was not the case; although the performance itself did have its merits, there was something subtly missing. The band kicked off their set with songs such as I Want You So Much and Katie-Sue, each seemed to recreate a Beach Boys-esque soundtrack. With guitar riffs that added pendulum swings and a bass that added an element of chromatic descent as found with many surf-rock songs from the era, a listener could be drawn into a retrospective observation of a counterculture that used to exist along the coast of California. But that's the problem – when they performed the newly released single. Alana, it evoked too much of the age-old question “Have I heard this song before?” It's understandable for a band who is very garage/surf-rock-oriented to play surf-infused music, but by continuously harking back to a bygone era, the band becomes a tribute surf-rock band, rather than a band that likes to play surf-rock music.