The Angels – The Gov Friday 16 November 2018.
Words Geoff Jenke
It’s hard to believe, but it has been four decades since the release of The Angels’ sophomore album Face to Face. The seminal release firmly put the band on the map – both in Australia and internationally – spawning tracks that still hold an iconic place in Aussie music history such as Take A Long Line, Marseilles, After the Rain and Be with You, to name a few.
In fact, it is not until you hear the album live that you realise just how many classic Angels songs were on Face to Face. It was produced by legendary Australian producer, Mark Opitz and while it only peaked at No. 18 on the charts, it went on to sell enough copies to be 4x platinum.
The opening salvo of Straight Jacket, After the Rain, Love Takes Care, Take a Long Line and Marseilles has to be one of the strongest “side 1”’s of any album ever released anywhere in the world. The band absolutely nailed the songs and while Dave Gleeson is no Doc Neeson in the aerobics department, he is no slouch either and covers the vocals extremely well. In fact, I cannot think of anyone else who would fit into the Angels lead vocal slot as good.
The band are well oiled when it comes to performance. Although the Brewster Brothers Rick and John are the only original members, drummer Nick Norton and vocalist Dave Gleeson have been with the band since 2011 and Sam Brewster (John’s son) on bass, since 2013.
While “side 2” of the album is not quite up to “side 1”, it still is no slouch with Be with You, I ain’t the One and Comin’ Down powering out the album and the set. A surprise was the early arrival of Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again which closed the first set (and not on the Face to Face album). Yes, the 700 strong in The Gov know the words and heartily sang the “added” words. You know what they are….
Set two started a bit more sedately with Ivory Stairs from No Exit and a newish song in 2014’s Talk the Talk. The crowd and the band soon moved up a notch or two with No Secrets, Out of the Blue and Mr Damage. Dave’s vocal did not quite reach the menacing sound of Doc on Mr Damage, but that is a small gripe.
Fashion and Fame, no not the Bowie version, was one of the highlights of the night as Dave stalked around the stage with a wicked smile on his face pointing at various crowd members. Shadow Boxer and No Exit finished the set on a high.
I was left wondering what songs were left for the encore and was surprised the night finished with Can’t Shake It. While it is a great song the band padded it out with solos from the members which left the crowd a bit flat with many walking out the door.
It is hard to believe Face to Face is 40 years old. It is still harder to believe the band is still going and can sell out The Gov two nights in a row.
But then they are south Australian and South Australia is proud of them.
No Comments