Gig Watch: The Exploders - Bootleg

By Sean Lynch
Pictures From www.bootlegger.com.au
Click Here To Listen To Songs from The Exploders latest Album

CLICK HERE to check out tunes from The Exploders latest album.

I'm not sure whether I'm happy or sad, but it's all of a sudden becoming "cool" to be "uncool". Which kind of shits me. 

For all those years the 'pretty people' of the world put their nose up at you for wearing jeans and a band tee shirt, with your only refuge a cool little (and relatively empty) smokey venue where you could down pints and watch some good rock music - and nowadays, those same 'pretty people' are infesting the Rock Geeks private Idaho!

Thankfully, it's not all dire. There's a cool venue which is quickly finding a loving audience in a little alley way in Melbourne, called Bootleg.

This is what Click Click was before the teens and the One Lovers got a hold of it and made it a pretentious waste of space.

I hadn't been to a good old fashioned gig in a while, so I felt there was no better place to start than by checking out a band that got me into the scene in the first place - The Exploders.

Arriving just after 10pm, the place seemed rather empty. But that what's what was so cool about it. Very dark, very broody - some awesome indie tracks played by the DJ (Iggy, Kasabian, Strokes, Kings of Leon...you get the gist) - and some mighty comfy padded booths! Not to mention cheap beer. Things were good.

Support band, The Cheats, came on and did their thing with a good amount of enthusiasm - and fairy lights - before ending with a cover of Ballroom Blitz. Like I always say, a mediocre gig can be saved by picking the perfect cover as an encore - and The Cheats succeeded in doing so.

Finally, The Exploders made their way onto stage. I have to admit, Bootleg just seems like the most perfect venue. There are trippy visuals going on all throughout the bands set; the sound is good; the beer is cheap. Sadly, there was something that wasn't quite hitting the spot. It was the Exploders.

I'd heard talk here or there that people had seen the guys play at festivals and "not been that good", and I couldn't understand. They used to kick arse every time I saw them. But something was lacking. Perhaps it was the minimal crowd, or perhaps it's just the guys being road weary - but they lacked the passion that used to accompany their gigs.

The hits worked a treat, in particular My Country Brain, Steppin Out and Big Hair Revolution - easily some of the best Blues infused rock tracks you're ever likely to hear, however none of the new stuff seemed to jump out. Perhaps the impending new album will help iron out the problems, but for mine, this was a tad of a let down. Except later on in the night when I received free drink cards...that was a good thing.

Great Venue. Disappointing show.

Overall: 50%

The Exploders belted out classic tunes	The Cheats impressed with Fairy Lights