The Cuckoos

Last night Belinda came and picked me up and we headed off to Brunswick Street as a bit of a farewell since she will be moving to London in about a week. We had dinner at The Vegie Bar, dessert at Trampoline and then headed to The Evelyn to see The Cuckoos. The first band we saw for the evening was The Alcorettes, who had a much more alt-country/early rock 'n' roll sound that I was expecting. Next was The Revels, who have that classic Aussie pub rock sound and good energy on stage.

The Cuckoos played a fun set and had a group of people dancing at the front of the stage. They played a mixture of new songs and ones off their EP. It was good to hear "Sweet Tooth Sally Malouf," "Clementine" and my personal favorite "Lovely Day." They even sang their own version of "Happy Birthday" for someone in the crowd (and I'll take it as early birthday wishes for myself too). It was good to see Tom and Quang playing live again, as Little Red don't seem to be doing much these days.

The Cuckoos EP Launch

Last night Belinda and I headed to The Birmingham Hotel on Smith Street for what could have been deemed an evening with the Little Red side project bands. This was the first time I have been to The Birmy, and the band room looks like a 1970's den with all the wood panelling. First up for the evening was Taka's band The Hondas. I hadn't seen them since they got a new bass player, and Jarrad sort of has a Phil Lesh look and vibe to him. All three members traded off on lead vocal duties and Taka was shaking his hair all set long. Almost all of the songs were ones I haven't heard before.

Next on stage was The Toot Toot Toots, who had go go dancers to complement their set. They were very entertaining and their sound is sort of a psychobilly/70's rock mix. After them was Dom's band The Greasers. Their set was half songs from their album and half new stuff. Highlights were "No Love Left" and "Shelly."

Last but not least was Tom and Quang's band The Cuckoos. This show was to launch their EP "Perfect View", which I purchased at the door. They have only played a handful of shows, but they sounded great and are a throwback to 50's rock (not a surprise when you consider Tom's Little Red songs). They even had some horn players on a couple of the songs. All in all it was a good night, and I really hope that Little Red gets into the studio soon to record their second album.