Live Review: Tiger Army, Fireballs, Pat Capocci

Heavily tattooed men with slicked-back quiffs and dolled-up honeys flurry into The Prince's dimly lit bandroom for the evening's open act, Pat Capocci. With crisp vocals, Capocci fires up the stage with smooth rockabilly grooves that have high-heeled feet jiving across the filling dancefloor.

Melbourne's own psychobilly legends Fireballs bring the venue's amplification up to another level as their reverberating set of songs can be heard upon arrival; they prowl across the stage while the dancefloor's initial groove becomes a growing, jumping mass of leather and leopard print. Despite the sweat, their heightened psycho-quiffs manage to stay pretty much intact throughout the show and our applause for their performance shows the band are greatly appreciated.

After losing the house lights, our only illumination now comes from the bar and the dimly lit stage that's adorned by a large, hanging backdrop for the headlining act: Tiger Army. The heat rises as the clock ticks and instrumental rockabilly songs play through the intermission, punctuated by our incessant chatter.

Hank Williams' The Angels Of Death takes over the speakers and the introduction for a fashionably late Tiger Army causes cheering to erupt before their intro song Firefall. Without delay, the Californian three-piece are straight into their set with frontman Nick 13 (real name: Kearny Nick Jones) soon mouthing a seductive "thank you" to the crowd. "How are you Melbourne?" he asks. "It's been a long eight years."

I Am The Moth maintains the evening's fast pace and Cupid's Victim keeps this rhythm flowing into Pain. A few punters attempt crowdsurfing and some guy has his crotch elevated in the air as the cheerful singalongs follow Nick 13's delicate vocals. Nick 13 asks who among us speaks Spanish (apparently half the venue does) as Tiger Army begin the contagious intro to Hechizo De Amor. Giving a shout-out to all of their fans, the band bring their set to an abrupt close with Never Die, adding, "The Tiger Army never dies!"

Our stomping boots bring them back for an inevitable encore and the band give it their all, taking introductory solos on their instruments. Their double bassist ends up on the ground with his instrument resting across his feet as Nick 13 gets down to meet him on the stage's floor, mid-solo. Tiger Army's hungry fans are soon satisfied as their set is brought to an enthusiastic close with Sea Of Fire.