The fantastic Indi Bar in Scarborough on the beaches of Perth played host to the heavy stoner rock festival Spliffs N Riffs this past Saturday as part of Swedish rock act Deville’s first ever Australia tour. With 10 bands on the bill ranging from stoner to heavy, classic and straight up hard rock, it was inevitably going to be a great night of music.
With Solar Juice and Meka kicking this off in the later part of the afternoon, sun going down and crowd pouring in for this evenings activities, the vibe was already electrifying as things settled in preparation for Deville who are coming in all the way from Sweden. Their first trip down under and obviously for most if not all of us, a first time witnessing their live show too. The Wedges continued the days festivities with a brilliant set, Mage following right after for a two pronged sonic assault that left the crowd wanting more of this brilliant music.
Giant Dwarf have been also killing it lately, scoring some top notch support slots including a recent show with California psych rockers Earthless and tonight they brought some of that experience to the small stage at the Indi Bar. Their sound is always impeccable and the crowd threw back the same energy to the band in appreciation. Vulgarite brought a bit of heaviness to the show with their rock n’ roll party vibe and sick riffs that was worthy of a few headbangs. Black Buzzard followed right after and was one of the biggest surprises of the night, bringing forth a more classic rock sound to the show and really bringing the crowd to their knees with a fantastic performance. It’s moments like this that really make you appreciate the effort to support local music, not knowing sometimes whether you will discover a band for the first time.
Legs Electric are no stranger to many in the crowd tonight, the premier women of the Perth rock scene always deliver the goods and tonight was no different, putting on another stellar performance that lent itself very well to the spliffs n riffs theme tonight. A set full of balls to the wall rock n roll set the bar high for the remaining bands left on the show but Datura4 who were up next, were up for the challenge. The boogie woogie set was fun filled and energetic as always, these guys are as good as it gets when it come to this music and the band were firing on all cylinders tonight.
Swedish stoner rock band Deville may be a little unfamiliar to some but if you are heavily into this form of music, especially in the underground then their 20 year career may be already on your radar. Their sound has evolved these days into a more heavier wall of sound with progressive elements but still just as effective and great as always. Their set was filled with heavy, loud and in your face rock n roll – just the way everyone likes it. The quartet blasted their way through a set that ended just as quickly as it began but an absolutely fun and memorable performance that many of us will remember for some time.
Photos by Linda Dunjey Photography | Review by Andrew Massie
DEVILLE, DATURA4, LEGS ELECTRIC
BLACK BUZZARD, VULGARITE, GIANT DWARF, MAG, THE WEDGES
