Hotel Gearin, Katoomba, Saturday April 21st, 2018
Rapidly drawing a horde of subcultured music fans and enthusiastic youth through the doors of Katoomba’s Hotel Gearin, the live return of heavy local legends Red Bee was also promotion and preparation for the trio’s latest LP, Silent Enemy, due for release on the 4th of May. As featured on the cover of our last issue, the esteemed group are widely regarded in our nation’s modern metal scene for uncompromising, complex and original song writing paired with a recognisably Australian persona. So prior to the release of Silent Enemy on Melbourne’s Dinner For Wolves label, this hometown show with fellow local riff-mongers Paperhill and Quoll proved the right thing to do, coming with the confirmation that heavy culture in the Mountains is still blooming. Honouring a relatively no-frills approach with these two very different duos, the audience were kept on their toes as the night evolved.
The projections, smoke and hooded cloaks of Quoll took the crowd into unexpected progressive territory, with the percussive assault of Isaac Beggs on drums with Ash on vocals, synth and 8-string guitar; the music maintaining a classic build-up and breakdown format with plenty of twists and turns.
Later, Paperhill’s massive hard-rock grooves proved allegiance from the floor as Oli ‘Big Bird’ Sattler and drummer Frankie Jesus powered through a familiar set of crowd favourites. Newer tracks ‘Fidget Spinner’ and ‘Hit The Ground’ threw punters into frenzy with their deep and punchy rhythms, before we limbered up for the final ordered chaos of the night.
Debuting new tracks such as ‘Dead Inside’ in the first public performance of this recent material, Red Bee looked ecstatic and thus sounded so, too, the energy of these musicians palpable through the crushing tones of guitars and drums. Easily carving through the unique grooves and technical intricacies of their particular style, Dan, Jim and Ian were well and truly back in action. Reviving the “lose your f___ing sh_t part” for one track toward the night’s end, the Roxy Room was again transformed into a flailing and bouncing army of people, united for a singular vision of Rock…
Just a typical Saturday night then?
- ORIGINALLY WRITTEN FOR UPCOMING ISSUE #14 OF THE HAZE MAG, 2018. http://www.thehazemag.com.au/