Live Review: The Brothers Grim

Before you start reading this review you should know this: I am a huge fan of The Brothers Grim. So when they announced they would be touring WA for the launch of their new EP, Roll It In, I was more excited than a little yapper dog in a squeaky toy factory. With supporting acts courtesy of local trio The Bonekickers and veterans The DomNicks, it was clear that we were in for a delicious and satisfying three course meal of rocking bluesy soul food.

After a few aperitifs, The Bonekickers kicked things off for our hors d'oeuvre with a tasty mélange of rock and blues from their new LP, Devil In My Heart, and more, delectably complimented by some sexy, gravelly vocals from singers Marie Young and Lachlan Lyon.

Our entrée was served by The DomNicks', a satisfying, meat and potatoes rock pot. The DomNick's are true pedigree rockers having been active on the local and international music scenes since the mid-eighties and tonight provided a very confident and “matter of fact” delivery of some very affective rock n roll sounds.

Finally, The Brothers Grim brought us our main course of pure blues fury with a side helping of distorted slide guitar and finger-bleedingly good double bass riffs. Front man James Grim prowled around the stage, visibly powering up before feeding us the hits both from their new EP and from their album A Year To Forget. Grim is sensational to watch. Whether he's leaping off stage and onto the bar, teasing members of the audience or undertaking an impromptu strip-tease, he never misses a beat. Some of the cheekier audience members appeared keen to re-enact Grim's memorable underpants performance at this year's West Coast Blues n' Roots Festival and went about tearing off his clothes whenever he was in arms reach. Ever ready for some lewd larrikinism, Grim threw the challenge back at the audience with the habitual glint in his eye suggesting that we should start a “shirts off party”. Instantly the dance floor became a mess of abandoned shirts and heaving, sweaty bodies.  This is what I love the most about The Brothers Grim's gigs. They are predictably unpredictable.

After the show band members James, Matt, Dev and Dom, as well as The Bonekickers' Marie and Lachlan got out into the audience and spent some time with their fans over a few dozen jugs, thanking them endlessly for their support. Unfortunately the pants off party in the Indi Bar pool never quite took off.