Live Review: Black Rebel Motorcycle Club

Californian rockers Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - BRMC to their friends - burst onto the scene in 2001 with an amazing self-titled debut. At long, long last they returned to Adelaide for a near-capacity Tuesday night gig at The Gov.

Taking to the stage dressed all in black (of course), the trio opened with the raucous Spook and Little Thing Gone Wild from the recently released Wrong Creatures album. The distorted harmonica from singer-guitarist Peter Hayes was a nice touch. Singer-bassist Robert Levon Been mumbled some hellos and asked how we were. We were great, thanks.

Next up, the boys grabbed acoustic guitars for Beat The Devil's Tattoo and the bluesy Ain't No Easy Way. What they can do with acoustic guitars is worth the price of admission alone and the mix of dual vocals is one of the group's strengths.

This impressive start was followed by a suite of songs that were largely uninspiring, including the dreary Haunt. To lighten the mood, Levon Been descended into the crowd and performed an unplugged version of the Irish ditty Dirty Old Town. Those who knew the words sang along.

The fan favourite Love Burns soon made a welcome appearance and all was forgiven. As Levon Been joked, "Do you know how many times we've played that song?" a punter yelled out, "Play it again!" White Palms extended into a nice version of John Lennon's I Don't Wanna Be A Soldier Mama I Don't Wanna Die.

Named after a biker gang from Marlin Brando movie, The Wild One, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club are loud and full of grunt — most of the time. Tonight's show suffered from a group of songs which were a little on the dull side. Thankfully Levon Been engaged more with the audience, inviting us to squeeze through and fill the space between the stage and the crowd barrier.

A brief two-song encore included their classic Whatever Happened to My Rock 'N' Roll (Punk Song), providing a solid ending to a sometimes-patchy show.