Live Review: Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Stonefield

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club make a welcome return to Brisbane tonight with a fresh batch of songs from new album Wrong Creatures. The San Franciscan trio blast hits from a vast back catalogue spanning eight studio albums, electrifying the dedicated and passionate fanbase they have accrued over their career thanks to the band's renowned live shows. 

Stonefield kick off tonight's proceedings with a blast of psychedelic-pop fuzz, the Findlay sisters from rural Victoria drawing a curious crowd from the bar to the front of the stage, keeping the attention and focus of the audience and winning over many a new fan.

The smoke billows in and the lights go dark as Black Rebel Motorcycle Club take to the stage in all black leather and effortless cool. Opening the show with Spook, BRMC own the raucous audience with standout new track Little Thing Gone Wild before erupting into crowd-favourite Beat The Devil's Tattoo. Peter Hayes brings the foot-stomping dirty blues with Ain't No Easy Way from 2005 fan-favourite album Howl, segueing into the searing Berlin from 2007's Baby 81.

Older tracks Conscience Killer and White Palms blend seamlessly with new songs Haunt and Question Of Faith, played with a distinctive timeless style that render BRMC instantly recognisable. Robert Levon Been takes to the very edge of the darkened, hazy stage for a solo acoustic performance, creating an intimate and atmospheric mood as close to the audience as possible. Hayes soon appears for his own unforgettable solo version of Complicated Situation. Leah Shapiro's thunderous drums anchor the duelling frontmen as they rip through Shuffle Your Feet and Love Burns, leaving an already sated crowd with blistering versions of Six Barrel Shotgun and Spread Your Love.

The trio with a big sound return to the stage for a two-song encore. Levon Been takes to standing atop the speaker stack for much of Ninth Configuration and ends the night with a vital and hectic rendition of Whatever Happened To My Rock 'N' Roll (Punk Song).

Sounding as fresh and exciting as ever, BRMC treat this Brisbane crowd to a two-hour lesson in rock'n'roll longevity, leaving a satisfied audience to roll out into the rainy night.