Mushroom Giant, Sons of Abraham, Tinman, Bring on the Junta, The Eleventhour at the Evelyn

Sneak Peek is a monthly series of themed music nights at Fitzroy's famous Evelyn Hotel - indie, rock, blues and roots, among others - run by a team of music industry and promotions types. Put in front of a room full of photographers, writers, reviewers, booking agents and the occasional record label representative, bands have the chance to showcase their wares in front of people who could potentially help them further their careers.

When I walked into the Evelyn a few minutes after The Eleventhour had begun their set, there were far more photographers than ordinary punters in the venue, with half a dozen still cameras and three video cameras strewn around the room. That has to be a nerve-wracking environment for any band to perform in, let alone one barely four years old and with a single self-released EP to their name.

But as tentative as they were in the beginning - vocalist Danny Boy in particular - The Eleventhour really warmed up as time went on. To be honest I found Danny's demeanor as a singer to be far too meek and nerdy early on, but I was well and truly won over by the natural power in his voice by the time their set ended.

Musically they blend a sort of straight-forward alternative rock in the vein of Why Valerie..? with occasional flurries of Mammal-esque funkadelia. Their main point of difference from the pack is their liberal use of aggressive screaming in the form of background vocals. In my opinion, it's way too easy to chuck some screams in a song to up the aggression, but it's a lot more difficult to write a song that stands up on its own without such trickery. But all-in-all I was pleasantly surprised by the entirety of their set and will be keeping an eye out for them in the future.

Sons of Abraham are - like The Eleventhour - a band who seem to gig a lot more often than their small profile would lead you to believe, and it really shows. Their brand of driving, occasionally crunching Tool-esque alt-metal would be a challenge for all but the tightest of bands, and as a three-piece they are all the more impressive. Their bassist, Jamie Cavalieros, in particular reminded me a lot of Dead Letter Circus' Stewart Hill, both in his on-stage mannerisms and his playing.

With an EP due for release in the coming months, they will surely continue their rise in the Melbourne music landscape, especially if they keep playing on bills with bands like Mushroom Giant (whose existing fans would surely love Sons of Abraham's post-metal side).

By the time Mushroom Giant graced the stage the Evelyn had filled up considerably, and I doubt there was a single person in the crowd who wasn't completely mesmerised by the sublime experimental post-rock being so brilliantly brought to life in front of them.

With an unassuming entrance and complete vocal silence for the majority of their time on stage (save for a couple of thank yous and a plug of their CD by bassist Craig Fryers), I was completely drawn into the visual nature of their compositions. "Poor Tom" is just as great a song live as it is on their album Kuru, and I struggled to comprehend how they could play such a frenetic, intricate song so perfectly.

Guitarist David Charlton, the "frontman" of the band (if an instrumental collective can have a single focal point), finds a way of looking so immersed in the music that you wonder if he's consciously playing notes at all.

But hey, that's Mushroom Giant.

Next up were Bring on the Junta, and the only two things I will say about them are:

1. I'm not into the kind of music they played, so it would be unfair of me to judge them, and
2. Their bassist had one of the most majestic lumberjack beards I have ever seen. ¹

That's all. If I were forced to give my opinion on their music, I would say that for an aggressive band I was surprised to find their music somewhat pedestrian. Certainly, there was a blatant lack of any kind of diversity between songs, but it seemed to manifest itself in their playing as well. It was as if they didn't really want to be there.

Unfortunately I missed Tinman due once again to public transport's personal vendetta against me, but heard they were good. Yet another band on my list. Great.

So Sneak Peek definitely gets a bit tick of approval from me, and if they continue to put together such strong line-ups I can't see any reason why they couldn't become a cornerstone of Melbourne's live music scene.

1. Check it out for yourself in this photo from one of the many photographers present at the gig. ↩