BOB EVANS

01/03/07

Welcome back to your classic Thursday night at Wollongong Uni! Complete with students, security and friendly unibar staff, not to mention an Andrew WK look-alike (or his exact double) sporting some super-tight denims.

It was a humid autumn night and kicking off first was Injettison . No-one could deny their talent with their respective instruments (keys, drums, guitar and bass) however their inclusion didn't seem to really fit the bill. Their music is in the same vein as Maroon 5 and maybe Thirsty Merc but with less radio play. While it wasn't my thing, a decent amount of people were grooving to their tunes on the dance floor. May they continue to push the boundaries of commercial radio.

Sparkadia on the other hand lived up to their name which has seen them copping a bit of airplay on the J's, a feature in last weeks Drum Media and a recent deal with Ark Recordings, a UK based music label. Uplifting melodies with a somewhat melancholic tone, their sound reminds me slightly of Belle and Sebastian with a kind of Youth Group appeal before they sang Forever Young . The three-piece from Sydney has recently become a four-piece, with newest member Josephine Ayling adding more depth live on the keyboard, tambourine and backing vocals. Front-man Alex Burnett's voice was just as strong as it sounds on Morning Light which was met with rapturous applause from the fledgling crowd. Although it was a short set, they are definitely a band to keep an eye on.

Anyone who has seen the "Leaving Home" film clip may agree that Kevin Mitchell, sometime front man with Perth 's Jebediah and currently touring under the Bob Evans persona, has actually grown younger since the earlier days with the Jebs. This fountain of youth is also working wonders for his voice as he seems to have lifted an octave or two above his usual range, now not afraid to add falsetto to his tunes. Saying this, the night's performance was a mix of folk-laden country-pop twang, with Robert playing many songs off popular second album Suburban Songbook . Opening with current single Friend , I spent the first few songs waiting for the rest of the band to come out- however it was just Bob, his acoustic and his harmonica. This took a little away from the performance, especially the song Nowhere Without You which has a great drum arrangement (for all you drummers out there) which was still well received and vocally right on the money. Rocks In My Head and Comin' Around were also welcomed with open arms, as was the laid back Don't You Think it's Time , a simple acoustic and harmonica ballad almost sounding in part an ode to Billy Joel's Piano Man . One of the great things about the night's performance was Bob's willingness to engage the crowd, and some red wine straight from the bottle (a move I'm sure he stole off Tim Rogers) which was happily shared with one lucky girl down the front. When he asked what songs the crowd would like to hear, the inevitable response of Harpoon from someone up the back had Bob responding "You know, for a second I thought someone was yelling out 'Fuck You!'" Ah, the joys of miscommunication. A couple of covers were thrown in with the set towards the end- Burt Bacharach's Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head and the Beatles Tomorrow Never Knows (Ticket To Ride) which had the crowd begging for more. Nah, not really, but Bob left to thunderous applause nonetheless.