LIVE Review: The Dead Daisies/Axe Girl, Perth 4 Dec, 2014

LIVE Review: The Dead Daisies/Axe Girl, Perth 4 Dec, 2014
The Dead Daisies with Axe Girl, The Rosemount Hotel, Perth, Western Australia
Thursday 4 December, 2014
Review by Shane Pinnegar
Photography by Jackie Jet

AXE GIRL’s appearance as support act seemed incongruous to a few people on the night, but their quirky pop is all guitar based and Addison Axe’s stage presence and songwriting chops struck a chord with the crowd in no time. With every passing song the applause grew louder and louder, and the hole at the front of the stage smaller and smaller. Say what you want about rock n’ roll fans, but these ones were open to new things and lapped up the irrepressible melodies of Give Me Your T-shirt, Animatronic, W.A. and Diamond Rings.

The six members of THE DEAD DAISIES have all been around the block a few times and know what’s what in this crazy old game called rock n’ roll, so it was with supreme self assurance that they took to the Rosemount stage and proceeded to deliver one of the best sets of rock n’ roll we’ve seen in… well, in a bloody long time.

Playing the best of their late 2013 debut album (It’s Gonna Take Time, Washington, Miles In Front Of Me, Lock n’ Load), a few from their recently released Face I Love EP (Face In Love, Angel In Your Eyes) and a clutch of inspired covers ( the Willie Dixon/Howlin’ Wolf classic Evil, Billy Joe Royal-by-way-of-Deep Purple’s Hush, Free’s All Right Now, The Beatles’ Helter Skelter and The Faces’ Stay With Me), this new band of old rock dogs proved the ultimate remedy to any Thursday night blues we may have been harbouring.

The names that make up this supergroup speak for themselves: Guitarist Richard Fortus and keys tinkler Dizzy Reed hail from Guns n’ Roses. Brian Tichy and Marco Mendoza played together in Whitesnake, and have many more credits under each of their belts. Guitarist David Lowy is one of Australia’s richest men and bankrolls the band – but proves he can handle his own in such illustrious company. And out front, the undervalued Jon Stevens, the Noiseworks veteran who holds this outfit together and whose soulful rock n’ roll voice makes these songs work. They bring the rock, but the frontman owns the roll.

New songs Mexico (“played for the first time here in Perth”) and The Best Of It show that as they’ve solidified as a group rather than the loose collective they started to be, their songwriting is in rude health. You know a great song when you can sing along by the second chorus.

Stevens picks up an acoustic guitar for a very Stonesy shake of Yesterday (their own track, not The Beatles song of the same name), that audaciously segues into Buffalo Springfield’s For What It’s Worth. Mendoza – a vocalist in his own right – owns the mic for this segment with a fantastic performance.

Throughout the whole set the band are at ease, fluid and tight, smart and playful: it’s a joy to watch and hear.

Stevens was born to tackle All Right Now, and Fortus delivers some of his best and liveliest playing through this classic bluesy rocker.

“You’re only a small crowd,” admires Stevens at one point, “but you’re fucken loud!” Which begs the question: with the array of stars on the stage and the sheer quality of the music, why was the room only half full? Must it be THAT hard to get Perth fans out to shows? In years to come these guys will likely be playing arenas, and like the early Sex Pistols gigs, hundreds will be lying about seeing them here at ground zero. For those that were here, it’s likely to be a show that will be remembered for all our days.

Helter Skelter channels all the mayhem of the original track to close the set down, with Fortus especially playing like a man possessed, including a short segue into a snippet of Whole Lotta Love, much to the approval of those gathered at front of stage.

An encore comprising new track Critical quickly morphed into a cover of Parasite, proving that The Daisies picked up a few tricks supporting KISS around The States this year. Mendoza makes this one extra funky, much to Stevens’ delight.

Finally, a raucous bar-room singalong cover of The Faces’ Stay With Me to celebrate Ian McLagan’s on the occasion of hearing he passed away the previous day manages to be joyous rather than mournful.

Great musos, great band, absolutely killer night. If you weren’t there, you really missed out.

Set List:
It’s Gonna Take Time
Evil
Washington
Your Karma
Hush
Mexico
Yesterday (includes snippet of For What It’s Worth)
Miles In Front Of Me
Make The Best Of It
All Right Now
Angel In Your Eyes
Face I Love
Lock n’ Load
Helter Skelter (includes snippet of Whole Lotta Love)

Critical/Parasite
Stay With Me

Category: Live Reviews