It had been some time since the Baby Animals had last played Revesby Workers’ Club. One person guessed it had been over 20 years, but one thing everyone could agree on was that their comeback gig was filled with the same level of power, passion, and intensity as a group of kids half their age.
The support for the evening came courtesy of Ollie Brown, a folk troubadour who was armed with an acoustic guitar. He started off with ‘Oh Sam’, welcoming upbeat riffs intertwined with a light lament.
His set touched on a friend’s experience with infidelity, his own thoughts on missing home, and a break-up song called ‘Weatherboard House’. The latter saw him playing harmonica and sounding a lot like Bob Evans. Overall, it was a pleasant enough half-hour set.
Despite greeting a room that had some tables and chairs set up down the back, Baby Animals were ready to rock n’ roll from the get-go. ‘Under Your Skin’ was a strong start to the set, with Suze DeMarchi allowing her three bandmates to play an extended intro before she arrived and began entertaining the room with her rock chick chic.
The frontwoman really is a true star. She coaxed punters out of the comfort of their chairs and had them dancing near the stage. The singer posed for selfies, high-fived punters, and even did her ‘feeding the birds’ act (a routine that involves her spitting wine into the mouths of her most diehard fans). She was an all-round cool and effervescent frontwoman, a crazy person who filled the auditorium with her rich, shocking blue voice.
‘Got It Bad’ started with a twisty groove and bassline courtesy of Dario Bortolin, while David Leslie played some incendiary guitars that soared. The mood was kept as high as their riffs during the early hit ‘Rush You’, which saw some people jumping around and feeding off of the vibe coming from the rock royalty in attendance.
The night was dedicated to playing a lot of cuts from their “comeback” record, This Is Not The End, with the ballsy new break-up tunes (written during DeMarchi’s split and divorce from Extreme guitarist, Nuno Bettencourt) sitting well alongside the classic angst of their early material. The group remained tight throughout and were propelled along by Mick Skelton’s chugging drums.
Whether they were singing songs about broken hearts, broken dreams, and Chris Isaak, like in ‘Break My Heart’, dedicating a tune like ‘Email’ to “Girls who can’t write songs of their own”, or playing strong ballads like ‘Stitch’, the killer music on display was undeniable. Ultimately, the spirits were high and there was a real sense of fun to be had amongst the more raucous and rocking moments.
Other favourites of the night came in the form of ‘Painless’ (a big singalong) and ‘One Word’, a chaotic, anthemic stomper. The band closed their set with ‘Early Morning’ before returning for an encore of ‘One Too Many’ and ‘Ain’t Gonna Get’.
The show was a blistering one and there was never a dull moment. Baby Animals were in fine form, proving that there’s plenty more fuel to fire up their bellies.
