Review by Paul H Birch, photos by Martin Tierney

Five young lads, some of whom have raided their old man’s wardrobe, half-inching the clobber he dreamed he’d one day be strolling down Sunset Strip in, are up on stage as the tortured squeal of a guitar lets rip. As the bass line kicks in, I realise their musical influences stretch even further back, right to the 70s, with a cover of Kiss’ ‘Detroit Rock City’. It’s followed by numbers from the likes of WASP, Iron Maiden and Billy Idol, plus an original, ‘If Tomorrow Never Comes’. There’s a group of young girls, dressed in miniskirts, leather and the like dancing away up front that are either big fans or current-significant-others, the band likewise are having fun on stage. The guitarist’s good, a shredder, but it doesn’t always fit the songs, none of which translate aurally beyond beginner’s pub rock. Youth will find a way so still I wish Fraxure well.

Bunker 9 features a similar five-piece line-up, save they’re a tad older with shorter hairdos and dressed in variations of black. They deal in modern metal, seemingly all originals with lyrics full of angst and anger. The music’s moody, veering between deep grooves, mournful stomps and propulsive attacks, save for their last number where they reveal a sudden penchant for Judas Priest styled riffs. The band gels collectively, their lead guitarist – a smoother player – solos within the framework of the song and makes it work. They similarly have their own crowd of fans out near the front, and I’m wondering if this changing of the guard is par for the course tonight.

Just over half-hour later, Keira Kenworthy and Nicky Waters saunter through the audience before she slips on her bass and he settles behind the drumkit. As a buzzsaw guitar sound emits out over the PA,  we hear a few whoops and hollers from the crowd as Troy Redfern himself hits the stage, with a burst of fury from his slide guitar, the pounding of drums, then the signature riff to ‘All Night Long’ off his new album, Invocation. It’s a spunky little number, blues-based for sure, but with that garage rock attitude the original Alice Cooper band had, Redfern’s sneering voice affecting similar tones to the old prince of darkness himself. Kenworthy adds vocals during the chorus, as she’ll do throughout the night. With a tremulous rhythm building towards an over-the-top ending, the audience elicits its roar of approval.

A baseball cap worn back to front, Waters means business tonight, and won’t let up on the beat, leading the way in for the next number. Redfern scratches away harshly on guitar before transmogrifying it into a boogie metal number, where Kenworthy’s placement of bass notes really give the number its grounding. Wearing an elaborate black top with red trimmings, she comes minus the hat she wore last time she was in town, whereas Redfern’s Stetson is ever present, with but a loose vest to stave off the sudden heat, his frame jangling with beads and bangles, all adorned by tattoos. Changing guitar to inlay some dirty southern rock slide before turning in a hooky riff and the teasing lyrical aside “Everybody need something” over raunchy glam rocked hooligan blues, guitarist and bass player pitch sideways looking at each other, moving yo-yo like during instrumental sections before the song reaches its crescendo.

Redfern gives out early name checks to his rhythm section, and will continue to do so through the evening, with Waters really giving it his all on the latter part of the next number. “The way you touch me, makes me lose control!” Redfern sings over ‘Take Me High’ with its wide staccato strides of sound, hands over her head Kenworthy starts clapping, a motion reciprocated by audience members until the pace quickens as they race towards the song’s finishing line.

The unexpected heat we’ve been experiencing over the past few days has Redfern adjusting his guitars’ tuning, and he takes quite a number of those with him on tour, possibly in different tunings, but it hardly slows proceedings. Broken chords with a psychedelic texture introduces ‘The Fever’ from the new album, but this live rendition possesses a far more swinging groove from Kenworthy and Waters, Redfern himself delivering a high energy attack; the whole thing with more added grit. The rhythm section deftly syncopating underneath as he sings in story tale fashion an eerie gothic lullaby nightmare with atmospheric aural touches before taking us on an instrumental journey, wherein he inserts eastern sounding psychedelic wailing scales, then a more direct lyrical guitar solo.

Waters drumming takes on a jungle rhythm, while the music itself could be the missing link between Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours and Tusk albums with an added slab of beef. There’s creative use of slide, power chords and choice notes picked out and slung like shards of rage, and as he shouts out: “The table’s turning!” a haze of Hendrix-imbued sonics fire out of his guitar as he and Kenworthy turn towards Waters, roughed-up chords veering into echoed slide work and a neat finish. When Redfern sings “Feel the sweat” during next number ‘Come On’ from The Wings Of Salvation album, there are few who won’t nod in agreement with this stomping rocker. Lengthier excursions of sound follow, a touch of funk here, more effects driven psychedelic blues there, an almost Zeppelin quality with a sense of the epic before taking other side routes culminating in a wall of sound wherein sustained notes splatter Pollack like as he solos forth.

‘Voodoo Priestess’ opens with more jungle rhythms but seemingly also with more of a fun attitude, even as a stormtrooper boogie takes rein where Redfern’s one side of the stage head bent over soloing, Kenworthy head bobbing to his extreme left. The next number embraces a variety of musical influence south of Texas, as Spanish guitar notes cascades out before submerging into swamp blues and a soupcon of wailing guitars before reaching their cathartic release.

Another guitar change, and a call-out of thanks and appreciation for the attending audience in these financially hard  times, and an entertainer’s calling card with ‘Waiting For Your Love’ and added crunch to its stomp, while from the same album ‘Sanctify’ ramps it up to with some Jane’s Addiction fun-some noise, electric gypsy atmospherics, a few bars of unexpected psych-prog and a whirlwind of slide soling before they bring an end to the evening’s live entertainment.

This was a mixed audience, aside from Redfern fans it including family and friends for support bands. Much as I wondered if they’d leave before the main act, many returned; dancing away good naturedly down the front;  proving music can smash barriers the way those postulating half-baked political ideologies in the world outside can never achieve. Tonight was about having fun, young bands giving it large and perhaps experiencing some of their dreams, and for the Troy Redfern band giving it their all and delivering where it counts.