Review of a 1984 Hunters & Collectors gig at Sydney Cove Tavern.

Author: Mark Bretherton, RAM.

Date: ~12 October 1984.

Original URL: N/A

Article Text

Hunters & Collectors took the stage tonight and delivered a blistering performance, one set to wrench your legs and send your head reeling. The sound was exceptional, the band tight, and the new songs can only confirm how crucial a force they’ve become.

The new lineup stuck with the new material, and who could argue? Driven by John Archer’s quite exceptional bass, they formed a miasma of sounds from guttural funk to swirling soul. Mark Seymour, looking at times like a cross between Kerouac and a rabid preacher, dragged his vocals from the depths of the southern swamps up to cool soul plains.

And as the central core of the band drove out its jerky rhythms, they were augmented by Jack Howard’s trumpet, Jeremy Smith’s French horn and Mike Waters’ trombone, blowing at times a savage jazz or carving out a Latin pulse that simply ripped the rhythms along.

On stage, Hunters & Collectors came across as unpretentious and unpredictable — gone were the serious faces of old as band and audience warmed to a show that pulsed and throbbed through the packed house. I’d like to say that they were flawless, but they’re not that good. Yet.

Comments

Thankyou to Tim for typing out this article for us all to enjoy!