The Bearded Lady at West End has such a great vibe, so much so that every time I walk in there it is kind of like being transported into another town or perhaps even another time period of days gone by. It is small and dark and cool, the staff are chilled out and down to earth and the sound from the little stage at the back of the venue is great.
Fox N Firkin’s single launch was a huge success on Saturday night. I feel they chose the perfect venue and the perfect line up of support bands too. With TrashQueen filling in last minute after one of the bands pulled out. The TrashQueen guys have been gigging around Brisbane for many moons and they take on any gig they play with complete commitment and give it their all every time. They opened the night perfectly with their heavy riff filled Rock and Roll with the husky and sexy vocals from front man, Sean, Nik rocking out on bass and Wayne smashing the drums like only he can. TrashQueen never fail to impress me with their performance and I love looking around at the crowds and seeing everyone else always equally as impressed.
Next up was Wheat Paste. I had heard of them before but had not ever seen them play. The first thing that caught my attention was the front man; In my opinion if a band has a front man that doesn’t command the stage in some way then the band just lacks something. Wheat Pastes front man totally rocked the stage and was full of energy, reminding me of another front man from a local Brisbane band I love, Deadyet? Both David from Deadyet? and Steve from Wheat Paste have perfected that energy and passion a front man requires to grab the attention of the crowds at a gig and gets not only the crowds vibing but also the band. With some wicked tambourine playing and the beautifully played mandolin throughout their set, I really enjoyed seeing Wheat Paste play.
All Strings Attached hit the stage next and I immediately thought of the 4 Non Blondes, it was like a brief moment of flashing back to my teens and belting out What’s Up at the top of my lungs while watching Rage on a weekend morning. Whilst they remind me of the 4 Non Blondes, they are very much their own band with their own style. This 5 piece Gypsy inspired Folk-Rock band are super cool, super talented and super unique. They are well known for their energetic performances and even on the tiny stage at The Bearded Lady, they still managed to bring that energy and have the punters loving every minute. Again I was particularly impressed by the front woman, beautiful, strong vocals and a complete Queen on the violin. All Strings Attached are like a super happy fun show of good vibes and good music.
Fox N Firkin never fail to impress me, I absolutely love seeing them perform and I’ve never seen them play a bad gig. Saturday night was no exception and to be honest I think it is possibly the best I have ever seen them play. Clearly pumped by the release of their new single Sail Away, the guys were in for a good time and so were the punters. Fox N Firkin are a Celtic Punk Rock band with a twist and mix of other styles all rolled into a neat little package made up of Adrian on vocals, mandolin, banjo and guitar, Andrew on vocals and guitar, Leigh on bass and Robbie on drums and vocals. Opening the set with my personal favourite Drink The Lot and rolling through their best tracks with the new single Sail Away bang in the middle of the set, then ending with one of their best cover songs, Zombie by The Cranberries. It was, in my opinion, a perfectly ordered set of their best songs and all were delivered perfectly. Andrew’s vocals when he sings Zombie are so on point and well delivered and Fox N Firkin’s cover of this song is my favourite cover version ever. The guys are off to Japan later in the year and will then be back to play some more local shows, after that they will be focusing more on working on their new album which I cannot wait to hear! Make sure you follow Fox N Firkin on Facebook and Instagram to keep up to date with gigs and all the rest!
Polaroid photos by Noni Stranger – iPhone photos by Shannon-Lee Sloane.