Sink and Sin? — Hot Lies at UOW Unibar 14th February
In a time when TV ‘talent’ quests and international ‘superstars’ are dominating our music charts, its always refreshing to see true aussie musos strutting their stuff and touring across the country, with their whole lives shoved into the back of a white tarago. Adelaide based rockers The Hot Lies are just one of those bands putting in the hard yards and recently stopped off at Wollongong Unibar as part of their national ‘Sink or Sin’ tour.
Their dates on this tour are just as hectic as the live show we have come to expect from the boys, with five successive NSW gigs starting off proceedings before continuing on around the country with 22 shows in 2 months and visiting all 6 states.
Walking into Unibar on Friday 14th was greeted by a see of emptiness. Maybe it was the unfamiliar Friday night session, maybe it was the Garden Party hangover but whatever it was, this gig was not looking like a packed house. Despite the crowd, Melbourne’s Calling All Cars took to the stage and after catching them at the Oxford Tavern just two weeks before, I was anxious to see what the boys had to offer second time around.
This band delivers an amazing stage show and despite the small three piece setup, produces a huge sound. With catchy vocals, speaker climbing breakdowns and the right attitude about rock and roll, this band are definitely one to watch out for over the coming years. They released their debut EP towards the end of last year and I for one cannot wait to hear future work from these guys.
Next up were Angela’s Dish from the Central Coast who play a mixture of indie and straight out rock tunes. This was my 5thi time seeing these guys with the last time being at Towradgi, halfway through last year. At that show, they headlined with a crowd of about five punters sticking around and more there to catch the local supports which opened the night. This time round they had a few more, however the same lack of energy and regurgitated indie rock sound resinated through their set.
Finally, it was time for The Hot Lies to take to the stage and after an extended delay, they finally took to the stage. Maybe they were waiting for more fans to show up, but nevertheless they came out and began with material off their latest album, ‘Ringing in the Sane.’ As a band who has toured with bands to the calibre of Alexisonfire, Sum 41 and and 28 Days this band used to boast a strong, post hardcore sound with screaming, yelling and downright angst that set any emo kid running for the hills.
However, at this gig they featured more of their newer, pop emo rock which mirrors their other national tour alongside Good Charlotte. At times, lead singer Pete Wood attempted to launch into some screams, however this just ended in him handing the mic to the crowd to finish the classic lines.
The main positive of this brand of pop rock usually comes with the ability it has to get your toes tapping and the fact it brings out the crowds to rock along. This of course requires the right type of promotion and organisation and with posters going up for the
gig on the day of the show at unibar, this show was always set to sink.... By the end of the night, I counted 29 showgoers in the entire unibar. . .maybe there wasn’t going to be any sinning on this tour?
It has often been said that more fun can be had by paying $10 once a week to catch
independent acts playing at local venues, then can be had trekking to Sydney once a year and paying $150 to see some band whose focus lies in album charts and contract negotiations and not the music itself. However, without these venues being strong in coming out and promoting the events and gaining the support of the local music scene, touring in Australia will be dead and more bands will be forced to follow the lead of former Wollongong band Porcelain and relocate to The US. Our live music scene is on its last threads and if we don’t work together to support it, the string will break and we can all resort to spending the next Friday night surfing MySpace.
By Matt Dawson
