Wolfmother @ Capitol, Perth 23.9.09

Two words to sum up the Wolfmother gig would be sweet and sweat. From the start it seemed like I was witnessing the birth of a new Rock God, and it really was at the end.

Capitol was about half full and the bars were getting a workout when first supporting act Sydeny troubadour Jack Ladder strode onto the stage. Accompanied by Kirin J Callinan on guitar and a loop machine, Ladder displayed the richness of his sensually seductive vocal, performing a great mix of jazz, funk and psychedelia. I was kinda impressed with the set, despite some techinical difficulties. Time to check out more of his releases.

Second support, Brisbane quartet Yves Klein Blue wasn't bad either. Sounding like a mix representation of rockabilly, grunge and soul, they delivered a solid, tight set. Single "Polka" was the most well-received, as the band belted it out with a raw joy that made everyone danced. The joyous and explosive set seemed to left the crowd lingering on a high, ready for the mighty headliner, Wolfmother 2.0.

Curiosity was all around, would the new band do the the old favourites justice? With no more indication than that long awaited primal scream, the new-look lineup appeared on stage, and set the stage alight with "Dimension". Wolfmother blasted through the tracks from their self-titled debut for instance "White Unicorn", "Vagabond" and "Colossal" with impressive accuracy. New tracks from the highly anticipated Cosmic Egg were also premiered - "Cosmic Egg", "Back Round" and "White Feather", with the latter carries a vocal similar to Jack White at times. Heavy guitar riff and thumping drums were heard from from the old, and straight into the new.

Highlight of the set was when "Woman" was played, sending the audience to a fit of moshpit mania. Tightly sandwiched, I was being squeezed to the first row, how nice!

The new set-up provided the faithful old sound of Wolfmother with a brand new gearbox. With a second guitar, Wolfmother’s towering sound has grown exponentially. Andrew Stockdale's solos and slides catapulted us from a good time to a rock frenzy. He paused occasionally to interact with the crowd, and throwing in a few tasteful windmills and jumps. New bassist Ian Peres, with a similar afro as the frontman, lashed his four string and hurled his keyboard as if it was a rag doll. Drummer Dave Atkins, who at first glance reminded me of the annoying lead singer of One Buck Short, pounded the drums at a blistering pace. Guitarist Aidan Nemeth was at the far side of the corner, where unfortunately I couldn't get a good look of him.

On the downside, Andrew's vocals were barely heard, most probably caused by the subpar soundsystem on the microphone.

After a short intermission, Wolfmother came back to the stage and did an encore, before closing the set with "Joker & The Thief", as the audience collectively losing their mind in the night.

It was beyond words to catch the glorious and triumphant return of Wolfmother, and this is probably the best gig I have attended, well at least on par. Epic and electrifying.

Wolfmother - New Moon Rising
Yves Klein Blue - Polka
Jack Ladder - Not Worth Waiting For