Live Review: WAAX, sweater curse, Teen Jesus & The Jean Teasers

Teen Jesus & The Jean Teasers are much more than just a punny name. In fact, their punky sound is punchy, tight and fun as hell. The Canberra four-piece have been playing their hearts out lately scoring sweet support slots and pulled a decent early crowd at the Oxford Art Factory on what would be a solid night of loud Aussie indie-rock.

"We're from Canberra, so we're not used to seeing people!” It’s a fair point, made by vocalist and guitarist Anna Ryan, as she grinned widely before screaming the vocals to the next song in their tight set. There was pure joy on the faces of the group. Neve van Boxsel was rock-solid on drums, Scarlett McKahey’s skills on the guitar were obvious and the finger-picking of Jaida Stephenson on bass was impressive. Their live show is a joy and, if latest single See You In A Bit (I Still Care) is anything to go by, their future is bright.

Teen Jesus & The Jean Teasers @ Oxford Art Factory. Photo by Peter Dovgan.

The momentum behind sweater curse is exciting to witness. The Brisbane trio are scoring big supports around the country and it’s on the back of indie tracks that are not afraid to explore their darker side. Take Some Time, played early in the set, is a ripper song, featuring the drawn-out vocal of Monica Sottile over the top of the hectic drumming and fuzzy guitar of Rei Bingham and Chris Langenberg.

The delivery of some dodgy jokes from Sottile kept the mood light, but the songs are loud, heavy and delivered with intensity. The crowd swelled, their heads bounced and things started getting a little rough in the pit. A sign of things to come.

Sweater Curse @ Oxford Art Factory. Photo by Peter Dovgan.

On the day after the release of their debut album, Big Grief, WAAX made their long-awaited return to Sydney. A sold-out Oxford Arts was the perfect place to witness the band rock fucking hard.

Bonnie Tyler’s Total Eclipse Of The Heart morphed into FU as the five-piece took to the stage in front a raucous crowd ready to burst. Then it was non-stop hits with barely a chance to take a breath in the crowd – let alone for frontwoman, Maz DeVita, who is a force unto herself on stage. She throttled the mic, screaming every lyric like her life depended on it, and just doesn’t let up.

WAAX @ Oxford Art Factory. Photo by Peter Dovgan.

In the midst of the wall-to-wall hits, the crowd were pulsing and things were getting a bit rough, prompting DeVita to exclaim between tracks, “A mosh pit without a girl is a phallus.” It gave the crowd a chance to take stock, but also exemplified how, despite her intensity, DeVita is very sensitive to what is going on around her – a fact proven by an album that explores a range of social and personal issues.

New guitarist, James Gatling, didn’t miss a strum, often playing up to the crowd and the ferocity of Tom Bloomfield’s drumming, which shook the foundations of the room. Following a worthy cover of Gossip’s Standing In The Way Of Control, a trio of new songs finished the main set, before WAAX returned with another new one, Little Things.

Guests have been jumping on stage for all shows of the tour and Sydney didn’t miss out. Kelly Jansch from Wollongong band, TOTTY, joined the members of sweater curse on stage for the finale, Labrador, which had the crowd screaming back the words. We were left sweaty, ears-a-ringing and spent as Toto’s Africa brought us back down to earth.

There is little doubt that WAAX are one of the premier live bands in the country and it’s just a matter of time before they take over the world.

WAAX is managed by Leigh Treweek, who is a director of Handshake Media, owner of this website.