THE GIMMIES
+ MACH PELICAN
+ DIMENSION 12
Empire Hotel, Annandale, Sydney
Friday, July 8 2005
WORDS & PICTURES*:
ASHLEY "OZ ROCK" THOMSON
Well, I was cranked up to see The Gimmies. I loved their first record , "Auto Shut Off . . .Any Questions". To my ears, they all do rock 'n' roll right, just the right combination. The players complement each other rather than someone letting the team down by having a different style that don’t suit, or not being good enough. The Gimmies have been going since 97, when rock 'n' roll was way underground, so they aren’t just cashing in on a popular trend. A lot of great rock 'n' roll bands emerged during the late '90s and residing here in OZ they don’t all make it here, but The Mach Pelican boys sure did us a favour here by bringing 'em out.
Mach Pelican are cool guys, and a big bonus to the Australian music scene. Tonight they played an energetic live set and people really dig 'em, just not me. They do a post-Ramones jet rock with genuine enthusiasm. Good on 'em.
My humble apologies to Dimension 12, I had to cook dinner for five family members, wash up, have a shower and a wank and I just ran outta time. This all means I missed 'em. Hey, people said they were real cool.
The Gimmies kicked off the set with "Stick it Round the Bend" off their new album, followed closely by "Alternative Mainstream" (new album as well). They pretty much just hit us over the head with the first few tracks - the Gimmies obviously ain't big on foreplay - followed up with "Pretty Flamingo" off the first album. The Gimmies are very "jet – troit" or "Jetroit", or “Oz Jetroit”, with the new album being produced by one Michael Davis, and these guys really visited the altar.
They just don’t stick to fast rock 'n' roll (which they do really well), some of the medium, or normal paced rock 'n' roll songs had the heart of, say, the Flamin' Groovies, and have a rich '70s influence.
The set cranked along with "Gotta Keep It Comin'" and "Let’s Get A Move On" (both off new record). These songs are aptly named for a bunch of fast-paced consumer Japanese western culture-loving rock n roll kamikazes! Also speaking of visiting the altar, these guys did a great version of "New Race" (originally by Madonna – LOL). I made the drummer show me his Radio Birdman tattoo after the gig, but he wouldn’t show me his dick. Oh well.
As a resident of Bondi Beach, I run into a lot of Japanese tourists on my regular “I'm a fat cunt and I go for a walk” strolls along Bondi Beach. I fucking love Japanese tourists and Japanese people in general, specially them petit Japanese girls!! The Gimmies, however, ain't your regular Japanese tourists, and have a lot in common with Aussie rock 'n' roll Detroit pub culture that’s nowhere to be seen down Bondi Beach.
Seeing the Gimmies made me as happy as all fuck. Good on 'em for getting the fuck over here, whether they visited Bondi Beach or not (hey guys - next time e-mail me I’ll take you down).
Dug it!
(5/5 sakes)
* From the DVD "The Gimmies Live in Sydney" (on Head Miles Movies) a sample of which - their cover of Radio Birdman's "New Race" - is viewable here.
