The Zoo - Sat Jul 12

Jimmy Stewart of Melbourne band Clinkerfield strums guitar, stomps tambourine, and fills the room with his startlingly powerful voice. Between swigs from his hip flask and thousand yard-staring at the audience, he tells us a few tales about life, drinking, and women. A revelatory three-way correlation, to be sure.

Tim Steward and his still-unnamed band explode in a characteristic display of masterful pop-rock exuberance. Only one of Steward’s solo album tracks is revisited tonight – the excellent Not The Same – as his four bandmates trade instruments and smiles throughout. Steward embraces his first lead guitar break late in the set during This Ship Has Sailed, which is indicative of the quality of songwriting to expect on the band’s forthcoming album.

Following April’s time-constrained album launch at The Globe, the ginfamous local nine-piece (or is it thirteen-piece?) The Gin Club take the stage once more to comprehensively launch Junk, their sprawling double album. Comprehensive is an understatement. The capacity crowd is thoroughly smitten with this collective of songwriting geniuses, and the band respond in kind by treating us to a set that approaches thirty songs and three hours. Highlights are difficult to pinpoint within a set that delivers quality and quantity in equal measures. Tim Steward said it best when thanking tonight’s headliner: “The Gin Club are Brisbane’s best band.”

ANDREW MCMILLEN

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