Live Review: Velociraptor, Bloods

There is American surf-pop calcified onto Brisbane n-piece, Velociraptor’s bones, but they’re encrusted with the grime of the suburban Australian experience, animated to life by party vibes – making for indefatigable garage-rock performers.

Indeed, musically and philosophically the Velociraptor entity transcends the six talented individuals that made it to the stage in the caverns of Pirie & Co Social Club. The amorphous line-up (legend holds that they grow to a 12-piece if you let them drink water after midnight) speaks to a collective instinctually able to adapt and evolve musically.

The subtly psychedelic lighting that swam on the wood panelling at the back of the stage set the scene for the retro vibes coming off both the supporting surf-punk Bloods and headlining pub-doo-wop-rock Velociraptor. Some kinks in the sound set-up throughout the night just added to the rowdy chaos that bands and crowd alike revelled in.

Sydney-siders Bloods got the sway-floor filled with some consummate surf-shed licks. With the right mix of angst and elation, the three-piece sent some compelling signals about their forthcoming debut album, Work It Out.

The ‘Raptors conducted their hunt for good times with cooperation and skill. Their experience moving in packs ensured that no talons were stepped on. While they got it done collectively, it doesn’t really hold to talk about a Velociraptor’s gig without mentioning front-person and primary instigator Jeremy Neale: armed with a toothy grin mimetic of the band’s totem dinosaur, the ringleader loved on the Pirie & Co crowd with guts and charisma. He was not a selfish paramour though, sharing vocal and crowd-banter duties around with the other five ‘Raptor tribe-members that had made it from Brisbane as well as eliciting a cameo from Bloods’ lead-lady, Sweetie.

Raucous renditions of party-promoting Riot, Cynthia and The Walk On By kept the audience in touch with Velociraptor’s proud heritage and blended surprisingly well into newer tracks. Arguably, there’s a big musical gap between the vibrant coastal sound of Velociraptor’s 2012 LP The World Warriors and the dourer, more urban new self-titled album, but that gap is inhabited by the live show. The polished edges on album tracks like Ramona and Robocop get scuffed as they’re brought on stage though, and we get to see them through a grittier, more emotive light – and damn it all if that isn’t what live music is exactly about.