By: David Schultz



Success has come quickly for the Australian hard rock trio Wolfmother, perhaps too quickly. The delightfully retro band came to New York City this weekend as part of their highly anticipated American tour, playing a coveted Saturday night slot at Webster Hall. Performing an entire headlining show in less time than most bands take for their first set, the trio ripped through practically every track from their self-titled debut album. In the absence of cover songs or a deeper back catalog, Wolfmother only played for eighty minutes, turning the crowd loose just after 10:00. Given the woefully abysmal bar service at Webster Hall, Wolfmother finished their show before people could get their second beer of the evening.

What Wolfmother lacked in quantity, they made up for with quality. Owning an unparalleled white-boy afro, lead singer and guitarist Andrew Stockdale has the stage presence of a veteran rocker, needing only a vocal twitch, head fake or shoulder shimmy to provoke a reaction. Given to stereotypical hard rock posturing, Stockdale showed he has studied his forebears well, playing his guitar in a vertical position, hunching down low to strum inches off the ground and pouncing often onto the drum riser to incite the cheers of the crowd.

The rhythm section of bassist/keyboardist Chris Ross and drummer Myles Heskett provided the night's most pleasant surprise. While Stockdale's vocals and guitar propel the band's funkier offerings like "Dimension" and "Love Train" as well as The White Stripes sounding "Apple Tree," Ross and Heskett anchor the more musically lush songs like "Where Eagles Have Been" and "White Unicorn." Ross' keyboard playing deviates from the norm. Throwing his bass behind his back, Ross stands at the keys popping one end in the air, playing at an angle. Alternately, he roughly moves the durable keys around the stage to suit his whims. Seeing Wolfmother live gives you a much stronger sense of Ross and Heskett's contributions. Stockdale's unique appearance attracts a lot of attention but Ross and Heskett are in no form or fashion his supporting performers and the two carry significant portions of the show deriving incredible power from just a bass and drums.

Wolfmother saved their prog-rock best for the close of the show. Prior to launching into "Mind's Eye," Stockdale told the audience they wouldn't tease them and taking delight in his not-so-subtle metaphor claimed they would give them a happy ending. After a brief respite, the Sydney natives returned for yet another seventies era progressive feast, "Colossal," before finishing the evening with a foot-stomping rendition of "Joker And The Thief."

Wolfmother's immediate success may have unleashed them on the world before they have the breadth of material to satisfyingly fill a headlining role. Their Webster Hall show, especially given the early start time, seemed more like a top-notch opening slot as opposed to a feature act. With time though, new material will come and Wolfmother should evolve into the latter-day emissaries of the seventies arena rockers that have clearly influenced the band.

Labels: Wolfmother