Review: Roger Killjoy
Tumbleweed/BRUCE!/Baby Machine
Cambridge Hotel Sat Jan 18
Wollongong comes to town courtesy of a three headed wrecking machine at the Cambo tonight. Baby Machine start things with a rocking set of classic rock cum punk, driven by a leather voiced banshee simultaneously thrashing the drums at a thundering pace. A great sense of humour and more importantly, fantastic breakneck tracks and choruses that scream to be sung along with instantly endear them to the slowly filling room.
Heavyweights BRUCE! are up next, and instantly slam into a bruising stoner riff before embarking on a spree of wanton full throttle punk stoner metal for the entirety of their set. Songs like Brown Paper Bag sound monolithic, Hell Gig swings a groove as big as a monster truck and there would be scant few of the bands limited run LP left to buy now judging from the reaction. Bruce Brindle-Jones absolutely destroys the drumkit in a heavy hitting performance, and the guitar trade riffing and solo duties from the other Bruce’s, at times, employes a twin guitar harmonic to a great, Thin Lizzy-esq effect. Incredible stuff.
I think I came too late to the Tumbleweed party personally, at 30 I’m at lower end of the age range present tonight, and I don’t have a vault of memories of the shows they talk about on stage tonight back in the 90’s. They’ve been inconsistent when I’ve seen them before, but they have a strong catalogue to draw on and a sea of devoted followers, so who I am to argue? The sound is a bit muddy at times, though the band are tight and deliver a driving, grooving set mostly alternating between older and new songs. It’s worth checking them out at least once, at three times I think I’ve had my fill, but it was good fun. A great night all-round.