Major Tom And The Atoms- Cherry Bar Residency

Throughout the month of May Major Tom and The Atoms have been doing a weekly residency at Cherry Bar on Wednesday nights, with each week devoted to a dearly departed legend of rock.  Tonight I met up with Mary as the opening act Casey Dean from the band Secret Tsunami was starting his solo set on acoustic guitar.  He played a mix of bluesy rock songs as well as covers of the Foo Fighters' "Everlong" and R.E.M.'s "Losing My Religion."

Major Tom and The Atoms began the evening with their latest single "Boom Boom Boom."  Tom Hartney was wearing a very impressive plaid suit (on the Matt Preston scale for loudness).  The set list featured many songs from their debut album Heroes, Villains, Boom Boom Boom! including "Bloodhound," "Confusion," "Evil Angel" and "Hey Flo."  It was also good hear old favorites like "Merri Creek (Dead & Gone)."  This week's residency was devoted to English singer-songwriter Nick Drake so the band did covers of "River Man" and invited Venice Music on stage to sing lead vocals on "Hazey Jane II."  To finish off the night and their May residency they had people up and dancing to "The House That Love Built" and "Mockingbird."

Here's the video for "Hey Flo"

Major Tom And The Atoms- Heroes, Villains, Boom Boom Boom! Album Launch

It was busier than normal on Brunswick Street last night as Mary and I drove around trying to find a park (we later realized it was because the Johnston Street Fiesta was on).  We finally made it to The Evelyn Hotel for Major Tom and The Atoms' album launch just as The Dyson Wyatt Polyamorous Tryst were finishing up their set.  The second act of the night was dixieland/jazz 8-piece band The Royal Jellies, who I really liked.  They were very impressive and reminded me of Squirrel Nut Zippers.  Featuring songs off their debut album Burrows St. Poolside, the highlights of their set were "Place In My Head," "Sweet Papa Joe & Maestro Julio" and "Shoot You Down."

It's been a long time coming but I'm so glad Major Tom and The Atoms have finally released their debut album Heroes, Villains, Boom Boom Boom!  Tom Hartney came out onto the stage in a black and white striped jacket and launched into "Merri Creek (Dead & Gone)."  They played the majority of the new album throughout the night and Tom added theatricality to the set with his costume changes.  He donned a red robe for "Confusion" and later changed into a plaid suit and hat for "Sherlock Holmes."  The band were on fire with "Boom Boom Boom," "Wishing Well," "Evil Angel" and "The House That Love Built," which had Sean playing the saxophone from the floor.  The band finished up the night with "Mockingbird" and had the whole crowd dancing and clapping along.

Here's the video for the first single off the album "Confusion," which was shot in Chinatown in Melbourne

Major Tom And The Atoms- Great Britain Hotel

For my first gig of 2013 I headed down to the Great Britain Hotel in Richmond last night with Mary to see Major Tom And The Atoms.  We got there just as Brother James was finishing their set.  It's been a while since we last saw Major Tom And The Atoms live, so I was looking forward to hearing some new tunes and we weren't disappointed.  They started their set with "Merri Creek (Dead & Gone)" and played a mix of new songs and old favorites such as "Mr. Lucky," new single "Hey Flo," "Ball And Chain" and "Wishing Well."  The new songs sounded really good and included "Boom Boom Boom," "Evil Angel," "Boogaloo," "Sherlock Holmes" and a funk number about buying drugs in Chinatown.  The set kicked into another gear with "The House That Love Built" as both Tom and Sean came onto the floor during the song, and they finished the night with the hand clapping fun of "Mockingbird."  It was great to see them live again and I'm looking forward to the release of their debut album sometime this year.

Major Tom And The Atoms- Shake It Til You Break It EP Launch

Last night it was time to get atomic again for the Shake It Til You Break It EP launch by Major Tom and The Atoms at The Evelyn Hotel.  Mary and I took advantage of the deal to received the EP for free with a pre-purchased ticket.

The first act for the evening was Quang Dinh and Band (tentatively called Naked Bodies).  It was good to see Quang playing solo again as he has always been my favorite Little Red songwriter (shh, don't tell Tom).  He was joined on stage by a solid backing band for a short set that included the songs "Hollywood Blvd," "For Jane" and "Monkey Blues" (which I remembered from when I saw him play a few years ago).

Next up was Red Rockets of Borneo, a psychobilly sounding rock band from Melbourne.  Their front man was very charismatic and entertaining as he danced around and I thought their songs were good.

Major Tom and the Atoms emerged onto a dimly lit and smoky stage to big cheers from the crowd.  They played a tight set of songs from the EP as well as other unreleased tracks.  Sean roamed into the crowd several times while playing the saxophone and highlights of the set were "Rolling Stone," "Hey Flo" and an absolutely cracking version of "The House That Love Built."  They finished the night with their current single "Mockingbird" and had everyone clapping along to the rhythm.  It was great to see such a big turn out for the launch and lots of people dancing at the front of the stage.  I highly recommend the EP, which you can order from their website.

Here's the video for "The House That Love Built"

Major Tom And The Atoms- The House That Love Built Single Launch

After Bic Runga's show last night Mary and I walked to Cherry Bar on AC/DC Lane to catch Major Tom And The Atoms' single launch.  We arrived just as the band were setting up so it was perfect timing.  They started their set with "Wishing Well" and soon had the crowd in the pit dancing up a storm to their songs, including "Mockingbird," "Lizard King," "Hey Flo" and the single being launched that evening "The House That Love Built."  For a few songs Tom was joined on stage by Jacqui Rath, which added some female vocals to the mix.  It was a fun and entertaining set as expected, and they finished off the night with my favorite song of theirs "Rolling Stone."  Now that Tom has officially left Little Red he is focusing all his energy into the new band.  I'm looking forward to the release next month of their debut EP Shake It Til You Break It.

Major Tom And The Atoms

After a yummy dinner at Baba, Mary and I headed to The Retreat Hotel last night to catch Major Tom And The Atoms, the latest side project from Tom Hartney of Little Red.  The opening band was Jimmy Hawk And The Endless Party.  I enjoyed their songs and they had a few people up dancing by the end of their set.

Major Tom And The Atoms played a mix of original numbers and covers during their very entertaining and energetic set.  Tom's baritone voice sounded great and the musicians in the band are all fantastic, particularly the saxophone player who had some mad solos throughout the night.  Covers played included Smokey Robinson's "Get Ready," The Box Tops' "The Letter" and a medley of the themes from Jaws, The Pink Panther, Get Smart and Batman which was used to introduce the band.  Of the bands original songs, "Hey Flo" and "Rolling Stone" were standout tracks.  They finished their set with "The House That Love Built" and then for an encore did an inspired cover of Guns N' Roses' "Welcome To The Jungle."  It was a really fun night and we look forward to catching them live again soon.

Here's a clip of "Rolling Stone" to give you an idea of what they sound like live: