Live Review: Tijuana Cartel & Wild Marmalade

Wild Marmalade opened this two-band bill. It's a really minimal set-up they have going on; just drums, didgeridoo and very occasional forays into some tribal vocals. With long, hypnotic jams built on a seemingly endless bag of doof-ready grooves, they had the crowd worked up and bouncing very early on.

For all of their downlow rhythmic power, Wild Marmalade end up a little short on songs and melody. They struggled at times to hold this reviewer's attention. But don't just take his word for it, as each massive drop was met with rapturous dancing from the crowd. 

Tijuana Cartel then took the stage and immediately started demonstrating why they were one of the biggest draws at the recent Peat's Ridge festival. Their unique blend of world music, flamenco guitar and grimy, aggressive electronica was flawlessly executed and frontman Paul George provided the charismatic focus and excitement that had the crowd constantly moving throughout the whole set.

While credit must be given to all members of the band, George is undoubtedly Tijuana Cartel's secret weapon. Even moreso than his vocals, his virtuosic nylon-string fusion shredding is a joy to watch and is the melodic hook that gives Tijuana the edge over many other dancefloor warriors. This was nowhere more evident than in the awesome rendition of 'White Dove' which rounded out what was an excellent set from a promising Australian band.