Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Immigrant Union @ The Palace Theatre, Melbourne (15/11/2013)
Dominated by an older crowd yet still maintaining a young demographic of Movember participants, I strolled into the Palace Theatre with a limited guess as to how the atmosphere was going to present itself.
Amidst the beer and social chatter, Melbourne based band Immigrant Union opened the evening. Partly formed by Brent DeBoer - drummer of Oregon band The Dandy Warhols, the crowd appeared just as intrigued as I was. Consistent with their psychedelic-folk, roots and rock vibes Immigrant Union were a great kick to begin the evening at the Palace Theatre, enticing the crowd with their catchy single Alison.
Between sets, the crowd scuffled the theatre in search of desirable balcony spots nearing the front of the Palace railing. As the venue turned dark, everybody cheered with anticipation.
A dim light shone down on core members Robert Been and Peter Hayes, as they broke out into Hate The Taste, a track off their latest album Specter at the Feast. The capacity of the bass was quite over-powering over vocals, however this improved tremedously as the band continued with tracks such as Beat the Devil's Tattoo, Let the Day Begin and Rival.
Shortly after, the band broke into Ain't No Way. Been as well as Hayes let go and channeled nothing but the music throughout this track, as did drummer Leah Shapiro as they captivated the crowd with the hit off the Howl record.
As the night progressed, BRMC adrenalized the crowd with more tracks including Screaming Gun, Conscience Killer and Stop. Throughout these numbers were energetic jams from all members. As Stop drew to an end and lights temporarily shone on the stage and the eager crowd, Been who had presented himself as rather shy throughout the set took to the microphone: "Shit. There's a lot of fucking people here, and that is really cool" before inviting people in the mosh to move closer to the stage: "There's no need to be packed in like sardines here. Nobody here is fucking around so come a bit closer!"
The band continuted with more tracks including the likes of Fire Walker and Six Barrell Shotgun. It was these tracks that lit up the mosh, and saw the members of security disregard Been's earlier staements and take further control. As BRMC concluded a track, Been took to the microphone once more: "You sneaky fucker! [security guard]. We don't need rules and all of your shit. You aren't even listening to the show you have ear-phones in. If there are any problems, and we need your help- We will be the first to let you know". The crowd cheered wildly with excitement towards the band, who exerted their support to the fans.
After everybody calmed down, excitement was furthermore provoked as the band started the chords for crowd favourite, Spread Your Love. Not a person in the theatre was still, as fans of all ages danced to the hit single off the band's debut album, B.R.M.C released in 2001.
The band's encore than brought everybody back down to earth. The first encore track was Complicated Situation. Unplugged, the acoustics of the track were carried out beautifully and had the whole crowd still and singing along. This was continued by an unplugged rendition of Shuffle Your Feet. Softer than its original, it was equally enjoyed by the crowd for its country roots.
The band finished up with Sell It, which ended the night on an energetic and powerful note before saying their farewells to the crowd: "Thanks for having us Melbourne, take care of yourselves and take care of each other".
Adrianna Connelly
Amidst the beer and social chatter, Melbourne based band Immigrant Union opened the evening. Partly formed by Brent DeBoer - drummer of Oregon band The Dandy Warhols, the crowd appeared just as intrigued as I was. Consistent with their psychedelic-folk, roots and rock vibes Immigrant Union were a great kick to begin the evening at the Palace Theatre, enticing the crowd with their catchy single Alison.
Between sets, the crowd scuffled the theatre in search of desirable balcony spots nearing the front of the Palace railing. As the venue turned dark, everybody cheered with anticipation.
A dim light shone down on core members Robert Been and Peter Hayes, as they broke out into Hate The Taste, a track off their latest album Specter at the Feast. The capacity of the bass was quite over-powering over vocals, however this improved tremedously as the band continued with tracks such as Beat the Devil's Tattoo, Let the Day Begin and Rival.
Shortly after, the band broke into Ain't No Way. Been as well as Hayes let go and channeled nothing but the music throughout this track, as did drummer Leah Shapiro as they captivated the crowd with the hit off the Howl record.
As the night progressed, BRMC adrenalized the crowd with more tracks including Screaming Gun, Conscience Killer and Stop. Throughout these numbers were energetic jams from all members. As Stop drew to an end and lights temporarily shone on the stage and the eager crowd, Been who had presented himself as rather shy throughout the set took to the microphone: "Shit. There's a lot of fucking people here, and that is really cool" before inviting people in the mosh to move closer to the stage: "There's no need to be packed in like sardines here. Nobody here is fucking around so come a bit closer!"
The band continuted with more tracks including the likes of Fire Walker and Six Barrell Shotgun. It was these tracks that lit up the mosh, and saw the members of security disregard Been's earlier staements and take further control. As BRMC concluded a track, Been took to the microphone once more: "You sneaky fucker! [security guard]. We don't need rules and all of your shit. You aren't even listening to the show you have ear-phones in. If there are any problems, and we need your help- We will be the first to let you know". The crowd cheered wildly with excitement towards the band, who exerted their support to the fans.
After everybody calmed down, excitement was furthermore provoked as the band started the chords for crowd favourite, Spread Your Love. Not a person in the theatre was still, as fans of all ages danced to the hit single off the band's debut album, B.R.M.C released in 2001.
The band's encore than brought everybody back down to earth. The first encore track was Complicated Situation. Unplugged, the acoustics of the track were carried out beautifully and had the whole crowd still and singing along. This was continued by an unplugged rendition of Shuffle Your Feet. Softer than its original, it was equally enjoyed by the crowd for its country roots.
The band finished up with Sell It, which ended the night on an energetic and powerful note before saying their farewells to the crowd: "Thanks for having us Melbourne, take care of yourselves and take care of each other".
Adrianna Connelly