Despite the drudgery that was presented to us by Melbourne and its indecisive weather habits, a couple of friends and I decided we would trek down to The Workers Club in Fitzroy for its newly established Ruby Tuesdays.
Trust me, as soon as I walked out of my front door I had an immediate sense of dwelling, and a desire to turn around and walk back inside where I would then spend the rest of my night sitting on my couch under a blanket watching some movie that I’ve already seen a million times before.
I pushed past this feeling, and it was well worth it!
Playing at the event presented by The AU review, SYN media and The 59th Sound was Howard, The Trotskies and Slow Dancer.
Unfortunately we missed Howard, but we rocked up just in time to catch The Trotskies and Slow Dancer.
The first thing you should know about The Workers, if you haven’t already been there, is that it is a very intimate venue and this works really well for some musicians.
I’m not saying that this didn’t work well for The five Trotskies boys’ and that they didn’t meld into that, it’s just that as I watched them, I was imagining these guys smashing it out in some huge space, like at Soundwave or something (they’ll get there one day) with an ecstatic audience jumping around, going crazy with their arms high in the air.
These boys are a damn good band though, and are going to go places with their music.
If there were any criticisms, (not to be taken too seriously anyway because all the positives far outweigh them), it would be that perhaps the levels weren’t exactly right. I felt at times that the instruments didn’t give lead singer Jack Rudich’s warm, enticing vocals as much justice as they could have.
By the end of the gig, the boys were far more comfortable with the audience and you could immediately sense the connection that had grown between them and the audience and them and their instruments. So much so, that Jack Nicholson’s face from The Shining that had been playing on repeat in the background faded into non-existence in my mind, and that’s saying something!
They just came out with their Debut self titled EP last October, and it’s bloody awesome, well worth a listen!
Up next was Slow Dancer, and as the bands name may suggest, “slowed down” we were. Everything was just switched back a notch, to a place of absolute dreaminess and bliss.
There’s something really soothing and sexy about Slow Dancer and I can’t quite articulate it, but it’s what got me hooked to them after falling in love with their track “We all make mistakes” when I heard it over a month ago.
They pretty much have everything you could want all wrapped into one nice little package. Simon Okely’s vocals are soulfully sweet and draw you in ever so calmly and subtly. Okely not only has the voice of an angel but also has a beautiful way with the guitar, as he plucks these wonderfully soothing chords which sit flawlessly over the soft drum beat and the sexy undertone of the bass, producing perfect bluesy, soulful tones.
It’s a sound that you don’t come by too often. Sure you get the elements individually here and there in certain acts – the great voice, the awesome guitar rhythm, but it’s not too often that you come by an act where it all just melds together so effortlessly.
And it does look effortless for Okely and the boys as they play comfortably, all smiles to the audience and each other. It’s no surprise that this comes natural to Okely though, having grown up listening to a variety of rhythm and blues albums, encouraged by his parents.
Clearly I enjoyed these guys way too much, but I think you will too, so please, do yourself a justice and go and sit back with a nice margarita, stare at the clouds and enjoy some sweet sweet Slow Dancer for yourself.
And I think I’m just about ready for a holiday to Hawaii now.
Chelsea Olle 