Electric Mary @ The Robin, Bilston, Wolverhampton - 10th November 2014

Review by Woody

Opening tonight was three-piece Mind Of A Lion who perform indie style rock. They have an Americanised indie sound that makes me we want to refer to them as ‘college rock’ a term ever present in the nineties and that’s the sound these guys put me in mind of. I can’t say I was wowed by them, but for what they do they were ok. Competent performers and to be fair it’s hard to give a jazzed-up performance when you’re performing to a largely empty room. I’ve seen far worse bands but there is nothing here for me to wax lyrical about, maybe had there been an audience for them to play too this review would have played out different. Although none of the songs really stuck with me there were a couple of nice atmospheric musical moments that did intrigue me.

It was a totally different performance from the bombastic full on rock n roll of southerners Broken Chords who delivered an energetic performance filled with groove driven power. Bands playing blues based hard rock are a dime a dozen nowadays a genre that is beyond over saturated and many bands some publications go banana’s for leave me bored and unimpressed with their one-dimensional music. Therein probably lies the biggest compliment I could pay the Broken Chords and that’s the diversity in their songs and song writing make them really stand out and make them exciting and enjoyable.

A power trio that really do deliver a powerful punch of groove driven rock n roll which really gets your blood pumping, I can see these guys becoming the darlings of the classic rock fraternity given the right support and gig opportunities. They also put on a stomping physical performance which engages your attention and the energy and eccentricity of front man Joe helps elevate them above many other similar sounding bands. Hell, some of Joe’s mannerisms and hand gestures would make local legend Bob Catley (Magnum) jealous!

A nice surprise and they have some nice traditional blues-based rock songs that put me in mind of some of my favourite classic rock bands like Thunder. Although Broken Chords have a more modern twinge to their sound and a vocalist with a more indie rock vocal – this helps differentiate them from the crowd. It will be interesting to see where these guys go from here; they have a good collection of songs which should see them easily expand their fan base.

I have to admit I was really shocked at how poor tonight’s turnout was for Aussie’s Electric Mary, I know it’s a Monday night, but I really thought they had more pull in the UK given how much positive media support surrounding this established Aussie band has been given in recent times. It’s cool to see how down to earth the band can be lead singer Rusty even making light of the small attendance at one point.

It’s clear from the very beginning these guys are much more used to playing in front of decent sized crowds back home as they perform exceptionally confidently and professionally and to be honest, they deserve to be playing to a packed house of sweaty rock n rollers. Forget the lack of crowd Electric Mary delivered the goods and put on a fabulous performance of gritty rock n roll which I absolutely loved.  They had lots of energy and plenty of melody and hooks intermingled with their rock grit guitars.

It’s hard to define their sound, part of me thinks they owe a lot to Classic Aussie rock like Rose Tattoo but then they have some parts that owe heavily to British classic rock most notably local legends Led Zeppelin. That said it’s hard to say they are a classic rock band as many of their songs have strong indie inflections and modern vibes in their structure. One thing I can define though is they have some bloody awesome songs that get stuck in your memory and get you rocking along to their driven bluster.

As performers the band as whole seemed game and although I’m sure it’s hard playing to a small albeit happy crowd, but Rusty announces from the get-go he plans to get things going like it was a sellout crowd! They also do try to get some crowd interaction going which isn’t great but that’s mainly down to the size of the crowd rather than willing participants as a few gung-ho hardcore Electric Mary fan boys do try to get involved! Looking round at the other fans many of whom were loving the performance with gusto it does beg the question why aren’t more people here the sound of this band has obviously won these guys over with fervour.

It was cool to see the band had done their research on the area, not only referring to the area as The Black Country but also vocally acknowledging the musical history and legacy born from the area. Hell, most English bands don’t even know the Black Country let alone acknowledge it from stage so it’s great to hear an international band recognise the our area’s true name and heritage. How to win fans over at shows 101....and it works!

I’m new to the band although I know they have been around a while and I only really checked them out as they were coming to my neck of the woods. I’m really glad they did as I really enjoyed their performance and hope I get to see them again in the future – hopefully next time with a few more rockers in tow. They are cracking performers and you’re average classic rock fan who pile down the Robin for more established acts would love them, definitely take time out to see them next time around!