So we’re back in Melbourne to see a ton of ROCK action! One thing we learned on our trip from last year, to avoid the jetlag after being on a plane all night, is to go to a show the night we get in and stay out until 2am. Then once you get to bed and wake up, you’re basically all caught up.
There were a lot of shows tonight, but we picked Hot Machine because we had a good time seeing them last year at River Rocks 2024. Didn’t know anything about the opening bands, but figured if we didn’t like them, we could just go next door and drink. Turns out we loved them! The whole night was just a fantastic night of ROCK and if this was the only show we’re seeing while we’re here, it was worth the trip. Lots of Metallica shirts in the audience, as they’re playing the next night. Yes we’re going. No, I probably won’t be close enough to make a blog post about it.
So we have three bands tonight, each representing a different subgenre of rock: metal, action rock, and hard rock. One thing that really stood out about every single person onstage this night, was that they all knew how to play! Like really well! They all seemed like experts in everything they played. Just as good as any mainstream arena act. But no one was really stiff or uptight wanting to get everything perfect. They just wanted to get up there and have a good time and rock! Which is what I’m all about. Another thing I noticed about seeing bands in Australia: they like to drink. And if you’re a singer, you usually just drink out of a pitcher. Hot Machine were no exception, and they could keep up with the boys.
Vixen Scream were up first. They were full on metal. They totally looked different than they sounded. Singer/guitarist had style, like Johnny Thunders. They were totally metal, but more of the NWOBHM sound, which is one of my favorites. NWOBHM seems to be fairly popular metal subgenre here, as I remember walking into a record store here last year and hearing Brats being played, which I never expected to hear. They also had Savage and Jaguar records in stock. And that’s basically what Vixen Scream sounded like! Maybe Brats meets Savage meets Jaguar meets Motorhead. Searing guitar leads, hard hitting drums, pounding bass, and lots of energy.
Mongrel were up next. I couldn’t find anything from them online. When I know I’m going to be reviewing bands, I sometimes like to record some video. There are 2 reasons for this. One is to get pictures that are more in focus. If I snap a picture while taking video, it’s already in focus and for bands that move around a lot, sometimes I need that focus. Secondly, is to help me remember what they sounded like. Mongrel came on, as the singer ripped through a few notes of AC/DC and KISS songs to check his guitar levels. Then said “If you never seen us before, we are Mongrel. If you have seen us before, you know what to do!” And then proceeded to destroy the joint. I was pretty blown away. I videoed the 2nd song and lucked out, because it was one of my favorite songs they played that night. So here it is:
I need to hear an album from these guys! They completely ROCKED! Like full on blast of ROCK!
If you know me, I’m usually complaining about how guitars aren’t loud enough. Well this guy in the audience did more than what I would’ve done, which is just yell “more guitar!”. He actually jumped up onstage, ran right up to the guitar amp and turned the volume knob louder himself! I love Australia!
Obviously a friend of the band, as then he stayed onstage, grabbed one of the two pints that the singer/guitarist had in front of him onstage, drank some of it, then threw the rest of it onto the ceiling, then sat down by the amp and the beer just slowly rained on him.
Another guy jumped up onstage and grabbed the singer/guitarist’s other pint. Drank some, then expertly spit it out in the guitarist’s mouth!
And he didn’t miss a note. Well, not that I could tell. Pretty wild!
Next up were the headliners, Hot Machine. And they were just that: HOT! Like ON FIRE! The crowd was here to see them and they had them in the palm of their hand. They were even better than we saw them before at River Rocks last year. Heavily influence by AC/DC (and who shouldn’t be), they covered “Shoot To Thrill”, then went into “Whole Lotta Rosie”. Not only that, but the song after that totally sounded like “Bad Boy Boogie”, which I’m sure was on purpose. Anyway, they had the audience in the palm of their hand and totally rocked the place. They were celebrating the release of their new single called “Burnt”, which unfortunately not out on physical format. But they were in a great mood and were amazing, finishing the night off with a cover of Rose Tattoo’s “One Of The Boys”, showing that yeah, they can rock (and drink) with the rest of them. As with all the bands on the bill, I want to hear a full length album!
A fantastic night of rock ‘n roll. If this was the only show on our trip, it would’ve been worth it. But we’ve only just begun! Stay tuned and come back here (or facebook) for more!
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