Live Review: The Teskey Brothers, Caiti Baker

If there's one thing I'm thankful for this evening, it's the warmth of a full house at The Zoo ahead of The Teskey Brothers' sell-out show tonight. Warm bodies and whiskey always seem to set the scene for good things to come.

Before the Brothers bring the house down though, Darwin's Caiti Baker sets the tone for the evening ahead, bringing her soulful swagger sprinkled with a perfect pinch of pop sensibility. Belting out tracks from her recently released debut album Zinc, Baker has some serious vocal stylings. Not remotely daunted by the stellar set to follow, her sultry cover of Irma Thomas' Ruler Of My Heart proves this petite powerhouse has some seriously sassy blues prowess.  

A heave and surge later, the crowd swells to capacity. The word is well and truly out that The Teskey Brothers are ones to watch live. No sooner said, the commanding tone of Josh Teskey fills the room and the chilled-out crowd hits fever pitch. Opening with new track Man Of The Universe, the crowd sways and swaggers to the strut of the live horns. Swiftly followed by Crying Shame, a soul-stirring torch song of epic proportions from acclaimed Half Mile Harvest album, Josh's vocals are rich with smoky timbre, transporting us to a bygone era of soul and blues that sits with absolute perfection in The Zoo's gritty acoustic environment.

The brothers Josh (vocals, harmonica) and Sam (lead guitar), joined by high school friends Brendan Love (bass) and Liam Gough (drums), are no overnight success. Over a decade of playing together prevails in their thick-as-thieves stage presence, which is complemented by a horn section that blows the roof off the venue. Casually coursing Half Mile Harvest material with absolute ease, standout moments are found in crowd favourites Reason Why and Pain And Misery, which unquestionably call up Otis Redding references.

Teasing us with new material in the form of I Get Up, watching the brothers hook in with each other and groove out has the crowd singing, clapping, and clicking along. Rounding out an epic set with a blistering cover of Black Sabbath's War Pigs, an unlikely choice for a blues band, and closing off with Louisa, the wanton crowd pound The Zoo's notoriously sticky floors demanding more, more, more.

With a rousing encore performance of latest single Forever You And Me and finishing with Right For Me, tonight The Teskey Brothers have proven their meteoric star is well and truly on the rise. Following the well-paved trajectory set out by the success of Half Mile Harvest, I've got a feeling the best is yet to come.