Bad//Dreems The Gov Saturday 17 June 2017
Review by Geoff Jenke
In less than a year, Bad//Dreems have gone from support band at The Gov to a sold out headline gig at the same venue. In fact their current Australian tour sold out everywhere. They have just released their second album, Gutful which was one of the most anticipated Australian releases of 2017. It has been a rapid rise to success on the back of two great albums and long slogs around the country to back them up.
I last saw Bad//Dreems at The Fat Controller late in 2016 and I can’t believe how much better they have become in a short six months. With the band firing, their music was even further enhanced by great sound mix at The Gov.
When the band hit the stage, the crowd hit the stage barriers with people suddenly appearing above the crowd (and the security guys trying to get them down). With two albums to pick from, the great songs just kept coming. Bad Love, Johnny Irony, Dumb Ideas and By My Side came out early. We had Pagan Rage and then Bogan Pride, one after the other.
Bassist James Bartold, stalking the stage, had an insane grin on his face all night. The band slowed things down for an emotive My Only Friend, Ben Marwe’s smoke-soaked voice filling the room. They were joined on stage by an elderly gentleman playing the saxophone, adding a whole new dimension to the sound. Then the sax shone soulfully on Million Times Alone, probably the highlight of the evening.
With guitarist Ali Wells joining the band on stage, Ben was able to concentrate solely on his vocals to great effect for the rest of the evening. Cuffed and Collared received an arousing reception and set the crowd off again. And it is only right the band ended the set with Mob Rule, throwing the mob into an incendiary reaction. They came back for a short two song encore, ending the evening with Gutful and Ben throwing himself at the mercy to the rabid crowd. I didn’t see him come out but presume he survived.
Bad//Dreems has to be Australia’s most exciting act. The only way they can go is up. Go see them before they start playing arenas.
Special mention goes to the support bands. The Bitter Darlings received an enthusiastic welcome from the still filling crowd. While I didn’t know this band, I was so impressed by their short set I bought their CD and will be looking out for them in future.
The Creases, hailing from Brisbane, were a big surprise. How can a band that looks so young play so well? They played their 90’s Brit Pop sound, throwing in a little of The Smiths sound (well to me) to a rapturous audience. Songs were short but sharp. I will also be looking out for them in the future.
Walking across the room at the end of the night was reminiscent of a scene out of The Walking Dead. The floor was covered with empty beer cups and rubbish with an inch of discarded beer washing over the floor. People had a great time.
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