One half of 12-piece Velociraptor hit up Sydney as a part of their national tour in support of fun times mini-album The World Warriors. First up was Sydney band The Dead Heads and even with their lead singer incapable of opening his mouth due to a broken jaw (the guitarist took over vocals for the night), the band played a solid set. The Dead Heads did however raise one of life's unanswered questions: why do so many tambourine players feel the need to emulate someone on crack in order to seem awesome and out there? Making slow and sensual love to a mic stand and then falling on your knees with your back to the crowd to bash the tambourine on the floor, often out of time, just distracts from the music.
Palms manage to make garage rock their own in a scene where bands can often all sound the same. They held the crowd with the self-deprecating but lovable attitude and strong musicianship. The bass player has been in the band for a mere few weeks and yet it was hard to tell as he melded seamlessly into the songs. They're well known for The Summer Is Done With Us but the rest of their tracks were equally as good, if not better.
After an impromptu dance to Duran Duran, Velociraptor took to the stage to a full house. A Velociraptor gig is the definition of a performance. Though they had to restart several songs, their set was otherwise faultless as they all fell into their parts, maintaining the same energy as they would with double the members present. Main vocalist Jeremy Neale spent most of the set singing and jerking his body with the front row like a beautiful and giddy swan. In return, the front row – most of whom were adoring female fans – performed the lady-version of a mosh pit: jumping around and swishing their hair while shaking their hips. Meanwhile, the tambourine player joined in with the commotion of the front row, while the guitarists kept a cool air and the drummer smashed out the beat before taking over vocal duties. The boys threw around dialogue with the character of a summit of the Rat Pack, bouncing jokes and comments off one another and the crowd.
Velociraptor have an undeniable charisma that makes them one of the best live acts in Australia.
