Wolfmother @ Newcastle Academy, Friday 3 March 2006 Australian power-trio Wolfmother are from Australia. I know this to be true, because a) if they were from anywhere else, the oft-applied label “Australian power-trio” would probably be somewhat misleading, and b) because at the time of writing I seem to be one of the apparently few Brits who have actually even heard of them. If, of course, I’d arrived at the Academy on Friday night uninformed of this essential nugget of Wolfmother trivia it probably wouldn’t have taken too long to work it out from the bunch of drunken, Revolution-bound vagrants bellowing the Home and Away theme tune ad nauseam in the foyer. | "Exactly what Wolfmother are is a difficult one to put your finger on, as their very existence laughs in the face of any remaining stereotypes." | |
Or the equally hilarious kangaroo/shrimp/barbecue-related remarks issuing forth from the sizable queue freezing its collective lovely-bits off on the street outside. So it’s Friday night, it’s Revolution, it’s bloody snowing, and by the time Wolfmother take to the stage at midnight, sobriety was no longer in evidence anywhere in the building. And the unspoken reason for resorting to the relatively safe ground of mindless Aussie stereotypes, is that very few of the inebriated masses piling into the Academy actually have the faintest idea what Wolfmother sound like. Impressive Looking at their album artwork, the impressive creation of legendary fantasy artist Frank Frazetta, the uninitiated could be forgiven for expecting some sort of synth-based, power-ballad-playing Asia tribute-band. Wolfmother transpire to be nothing of the sort. Unlike many bands described as ‘progressive’, a term that might as well be the kiss of death for an alternative rock band’s credibility these days, the originality and inventiveness of their music does not come at the expense of a good, heavy rock song, and this quality comes across superbly in their live set. As anyone in the Academy on Friday will corroborate, Wolfmother are without a doubt the tightest band ever to grace the Academy stage, or probably any stage for that matter. None of your “excuse us while we all rely heavily on constantly looking at our drummer” shenanigans that often characterise bands with such technically complex material; on the contrary, the Wolfies effortlessly pull off an awesome show, (albeit a relatively short one at just over three quarters of an hour) brimming with technical brilliance and executed with energy, personality and a smattering of borderline-insanity. Head-banging The phrase ‘power trio,’ (see above for details) is an apt one to describe Wolfmother, but with an implicit understanding that “power” must be the operative word here. While they might look like an indie band, they rock like nothing on earth and get their entire audience head-banging away uncontrollably for the duration of the set. This is a not unremarkable feat considering maybe only ten per cent of the crowd, if that, had turned out specifically to see them (figures estimated from the number of Wolfmother T-shirts in evidence).  | | Wolfmother |
Sporting an afro the size of a small planet, vocalist Andrew Stockdale is about as rock’n’roll as they come, his high-pitched, Geddy Lee-style vocals slicing through the barrage of overdriven power-chords, spot-on drumming and…er….Hammond organ? Exactly what Wolfmother are is a difficult one to put your finger on, as their very existence laughs in the face of any remaining stereotypes of what a rock band should be. Stockdale once described his band’s sound as “the playfulness of Earth Wind and Fire with the intensity of Black Flag” – throw in some Black Sabbath, a little Muse, a smidgen of early Faith No More, mix it all up with a bit of Floyd-inspired weirdness, down-tune to D, crank it up to eleven and I think you’re just about there. New twist This is rock’n’roll alright, there’s no doubt about that, but with a new twist. Big, powerful, and as heavy as God in a bulldozer, their sound is almost trancey in places, in that it’s music that’ll draw you in, hold you in its thrall while it messes with your brain, then spit you out with your head thumping, asking “what just happened here?” As they demonstrate at Revolution tonight, Wolfmother are to 21st century heavy rock what bands like Asia were to 80s hair-metal: progressive in the true sense of the word, taking a genre and taking it to the next level, and in doing so raising the bar for the next generation of heavy rock bands. As such, many who saw Wolfmother at the Academy, myself included, will await with anticipation a meteoric rise to global superstardom for these boys, and with it a swift and speedy return to these shores. Were you at the gig? What did you think? Share your opinions on the BBC Message board: Your comments KCdownunder
Hello fellow Geordies. I've been living in Oz for the last year and Wolfmother ROCK! I'm so glad that they're over there now in time for me coming home. I just wish they'd left it a bit longer and I could have seen them. I hope they get some airplay on R1 etc. as I believe they'll be HUGE soon. | 
