The Metro opened their once forgotten transit lounge, to welcome in Andrew Stockdale’s tour for his debut solo project Keep Moving. The smaller, laid-back space seemed just the ticket for the former Wolfmother frontman to unveil his creative redirection, since making the decision to shelve the band and start anew.
With ten years of material under his belt and the current Wolfmother line-up by his side (bar former Vines drummer Hamish Rosser) it was fair to say there was a building anticipation and curiosity surrounding the performance.
For recently formed Melbourne-based supports the Bob Harrow band, it was their first proper gig. Including Immigrant Union members Robert Harrow (The Lazy Sons) and Peter Lubulwa (The Galvatrons) the quartet looked right at home onstage, despite having only just recorded their first single.
The band’s psychedelic take on folk rock and their jovial rhythms incited the crowd to sway and tap along. Harrow’s gruff lilting twang mingled in pleasantly with Lubulwa’s electric melodies, as the pair harmonised to acoustic upstrums and buzzing harmonica. The group created an absorbing and uplifting atmosphere, throwing in a couple of Immigrant Union tunes and finishing off on single ‘Illusion’.
With his name literally up in lights, Stockdale took to the stage in true rock style, opening to an explosion of sound with ‘Somebody Calling’. The crowd ecstatically welcomed the familiar return to frantic pounding beats, killer riffs and the singer’s shrill powerhouse voice, which bounced off every corner of space. A hip shaking funk beat hailed in ‘Long Way To Go’, where one couldn’t help but notice Ian Peres pulling off a marvellous feat of tapping his bass strings with one hand and playing the keys with the other.
The group were having the time of their lives, from Elliott Hammond’s energetic drumming, to Vin Steele’s impromptu solos, to the big grin on Stockdale’s face as he energised the crowd, waving and nodding to those he recognised.
Title track “Keep Moving” with its truly Hendrix-esque vibe, highlighted the ease at which the band members gel, intuitively bouncing off each other. An enthusiastic audience member sent a drink up to Stockdale who saluted the crowd, before the epic intro to “The White Unicorn” swept over its jubilant chaos. Gear issues were professionally smoothed over by an impromptu jam, before the trippy distorted licks of “New Moon Rising” reclaimed the crowd.
Of the many highlights, Stockdale’s swap to acoustic brought some genuinely moving tunes to the table. Steele switched to percussion for the stomping southern beat to “Let Somebody Love You” and the wonderful lyricism of ‘Everyday Drone”, both which radiated warmth. The spell was broken however, when the pace ramped up again for “Apple Tree”. Camaraderie hilariously peaked when a drunken fan rushed the stage, taking over the mic to impart”‘put your fucking hands together for fucking Andrew Stockdale, let’s fucking rock!” before taking a selfie with the singer. Stockdale didn’t seem bothered at all, a testament to the band’s fun loving attitude.
As the set climaxed in a frenzy of high-energy rock, punters took their cues from Stockdale who had ripped his name banner off, to start throwing random objects at the band. “Joker And The Thief” allowed for brain shaking glory, whilst an encore which concluded with “Dimension” had Stockdale triumphantly brandish his axe above his head.
Wolfmother may be on the back burner, but the heart and soul of it thrives in Stockdale and his merry men, its legacy slightly different and vibrant in the four piece’s interpretation of the original tracks. The newer material is not vastly different but flashes with brilliance here and there, making it easy to connect with. It is as always the band’s crazy looseness and carefree confidence that makes their shows so entertaining and the mutual admiration of their fans, which will hold them in good stead for the next phase of this musical endeavour.
