LIME SPIDERS
+ THE DEVILROCK FOUR
THE DOLLY ROCKER MOVEMENT
+ IN VITAL
Gaelic Club, Sydney
November 3, 2007By SIMON LI
As the great Willie Nelson once wrote: "Ain't it funny how time slips away". Your humble reviewer not only recalls the gig at which The Lime Spiders' new live opus "Live at the Esplanade" was recorded in 1998 (the CD was being launched in Sydney tonight) and remembers attending - sans price of admission - thanks to the late, great Tim Hemensley, whose Powder Monkeys were one of the two support acts that night.
The "Live at the Esplanade" show was the first time your humble reviewer had witnessed The Lime Spiders in a live setting. It was also an incredidlby impressive showing.
Apologies to In Vital whom I missed as first support at tonight's gig, filling in for Happy Hate Me Nots (who withdrew during the week prior) and on to The Dolly Rocker Movement whom we caught first tonight and last sighted briefly when the band supported The Soundtrack of Our Lives.
Despite The Dolly Rocker Movement being tagged as a '60s psychedelic group (which your reviewer agrees with), it also seemed that the band mine a similar musical goldmine had Sydney legends Died Pretty been heavily (if not totally) immersed in a haze of Syd Barrett era Pink Floyd. They proved quite impressive.
In complete and most stark contrast, Melbourne-via-Tasmania twin-guitar four-piece The Devil Rock Four were up next and proceeded to deliver a set of blistering hard rock meets high energy rock. This was one of its best Sydney gigs this reviewer has seen by the band, as they mixed some well played originals as well as Radio Birdman's "Murder City Nights", which I-94 Bar patrons may be aware of through the band's appearance on "Flattery: A tribute to Radio Birdman Volume 3".
So it was time for The Lime Spiders who opened with "Out of Control" and from there played more of the band's well-loved favourites such as 'Old Dog', 'Volatile', 'Dead Boys', 'My Favourite Room' and 'Just One Solution. Also played were covers such as "Action Woman", "Ain't Nothin' To Do" and "Career of Evil". The latter took time to take hold, but the band had enough of a grip to deliver the classic "Slave Girl" in fine style. Two encores closed it down includinbg their great take on The Sonics' "He's Waiting".
Yet another memorable stand by The Lime Spiders at Sydney's Gaelic Theatre, hardly a stones throw away from where the band started all those years ago.
