Black Rebel Motorcycle Club

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
Corner Hotel
Sunday 25 March 2018
$85.18

REBEL YELL

Like most people who bought the first Black Rebel Motorcycle Club album in the early 2000’s, I liked its grungy gothic sleaze, even while conceding that they sounded like The Jesus and Mary Chain without the feedback. That’s not a bad thing; The Jesus and Mary Chain weren’t making records at the time, so someone had to fill the vacuum of murky alt-rock.

Besides, in channelling the past glories of counter-culture rock, not only were B.R.M.C. not alone, they were part of the zeitgeist. In the same era, Interpol burst onto the scene sounding more than a little like Joy Division, while the other big U.S. band of that time, The Strokes, sounded like a cross between Iggy Pop and Television. We may have entered a new millennium, but the alternative music scene was still very much mining the previous one.

I maintained some interest in BRMC but didn’t follow them particularly avidly in the intervening years. However, I liked the new album they released earlier this year, Wrong Creatures, so was excited when I heard they were touring.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t go to their Saturday night gig at The Forum because I had a ticket to see Jason Isbell at The Palais on the same night. However, when they added a last-minute club date at The Corner Hotel the following night, I snapped up a ticket. With a ticket to see Angel Olsen at The Tote on the Monday, it would mean three nights in a row of late nights, crowded rooms and loud music, but hey, that sort of schedule wouldn’t dissuade a real rebel.

The Corner was crowded when I arrived, but I was able to get a spot near the front. I left myself open to the possibility that I might be driven to the back by a surging sonic wave. I haven’t seen BRMC live before but something about the stacked amps told me to expect a deluge of decibels. Like most motorbike riders, I assumed they were unfamiliar with mufflers.

It was peaceful enough while I was waiting for the band to come on. I listened in to some of the conversations around me, most of which centred on the band’s gig at the Forum the previous night, the opening round of AFL football that had concluded that afternoon and the Australian cricket team’s ball tampering incident in South Africa overnight.

This had become a ubiquitous topic and I wondered what BRMC made of it all. It must be curious to be in a foreign country and find everyone talking about a small strip of masking tape secreted down someone’s pants.

Naturally a few more people squashed in as gig time drew nearer but it remained just on the comfortable side of a crush.

The band appeared on stage suitably attired in rock ‘n’ roll black. Robert Levon Been even did us the courtesy of wearing a leather jacket.

They opened with a couple of songs from their new album, Spook and Little Thing Gone Wild, before slipping into some of their older tunes. Tunes is a word that that might once have been used loosely with respect to BRMC, but there is melody lurking beneath the hazy guitar chug of most of their songs. Never more so that in newer material such as Haunt and Echo – both of which they played on the night.

The couple next to me were giving full reign to their dance moves and buffeted me at the slightest suggestion of tempo. Which is fine – it seems a bit churlish to complain about people dancing at a rock gig, especially to a band with the word ‘Rebel’ in their name. But they weren’t nearly as annoying as the person in front of me who pulled out what I presume to be the new iPhone X that they held aloft to film great portions of the night.

Again, it’s their choice and I realise I take the occasional photo too, so I can’t be too critical, but I don’t film entire songs. It meant that everyone in an arc behind them, had to watch Robert Levon Been through the prism of their smartphone – even though he was less than a metre away. I suppose at least their screen had good clarity.

The lowdown blues of Beat the Devil’s Tattoo, which came earlier than expected, received whoops of recognition and approval, as did anything from their debut album BRMC – most of which came in the back half of the set.

The sound wasn’t quite as loud as I feared so I was able to remain safely near the front. Most of their music is firmly ensconced at the bottom end of the audio spectrum, which I can withstand far better than I can handle high-pitched noises. I was bothered far more by the whistles of the guy behind me than by any amount of Peter Hayes’ wailing feedback or Leah Shapiro’s thudding drumming.

The vocals were shared by Hayes and Levon Been while Shapiro provided a steady and sturdy beat up the back. She had a break while the two guys played an acoustic song each.

I don’t know how significantly the set differed from the previous night, but at one point Hayes asked for a show of hands as to who had been present the previous night, so they could make sure they played a few different songs.

Bikie gangs are the epitome of evil here, and in keeping with this public perception, BRMC have an inordinate number of songs about guns – several of which they played on the night, including Screaming Gun, Rifles, Conscience Killer and Six Barrell Shotgun.

The main set ended with the Spread Your Love and the encore concluded with the sneering Punk Song, highlighting what was a solid, polished show. If it was lacking slightly in rebel spirit, you have to remember that the band have been going for nearly 20 years. I was exhausted after two hours, so God knows how they were feeling.

Setlist

Spook
Little Thing Gone Wild
Let the Day Begin
Beat the Devil’s Tattoo
Ain’t No Easy Way
King of Bones
666 Conducer
Berlin
Conscience Killer
Screaming Gun
Rifles
Haunt
Question of Faith
In Like the Rose
Echo
Carried From the Start
The Line
Complicated Situation
Shuffle Your Feet
Bandung Hum
Awake
U.S. Government
Six Barrell Shotgun
Spread Your Love
——-
Ninth Configuration
Whatever Happened to My Rock ‘n’ Roll (Punk Song)