Radio Birdman, Mach Pelican, The Molting Vultures
Governor Hindmarsh
Sat 19 August



Tonight at The Gov was truly the night of Aves as all three acts had a name referential to our beaked buddies. A happy accident? I don't think so.

The people flocked in droves to be here to witness a fantastic line up of classic-styled rock'n'roll - starting off with The Molting Vultures. I honestly don't know anything about these guys except to say that their solid set was tight, taut and terrific. Straight rock offset with the wicked inclusion of a Theremin would be an easy answer and, without attempting to name too many song titles, I suspect there were a few well-chosen covers amongst their selections, including The Eyeliners' Do The Zombie.

Mach Pelican are one band that need little introduction to our side of the country, though I must admit, this was the first time that I'd seen them play live and I was sold. Comprised of three Japanese lads now living in Melbourne who make no apologies for their blatant Ramones take on their craft, the 'Pelican burst onto the stage with no preamble and began with Anyway, only to segue straight into their latest single, Radio. With nary a bee's breath between songs, the only short break taken was just over the half-way mark where they all stopped to take off their leather jackets in what looked like choreographed precision, then headed straight back into it to complete their set in blistering fashion that was now truly established as the benchmark for the night.

By the time Radio Birdman were ready to take to the stage, the crowd of mostly older patrons were bunched up to relive their halcyon days and no-one could say that they were disappointed. In amongst the generous doses of hits and memories to get the crowd near the front slamming, Radio Birdman included Do The Pop, Murder City Nights, Hand Of Law, New Race and Aloha Steve And Danno, as well as taking the opportunity to showcase some of the material off their first new album in over 25 years, 'Zeno Beach'.

At nearly 60 years old, it's obvious that the now not-so-young Rob Younger and co. have no intentions of ever slowing down. Songs like Connected, Die Like April and the brooding Heyday were immediate crowd pleasers, with a few more chestnuts including Iggy's Search And Destroy and Descent Into The Maelstrom added to complete an exceptional night of hard-edged music from a band that doesn't know the meaning of quitting.

Steve Jones