Live Review and Photo Gallery: Hoodoo Gurus at Thalia Hall • Chicago
Dave Faulkner of The Hoodoo Gurus
Hoodoo Gurus
Thalia Hall
Chicago, IL
Wednesday, September 18, 2024
Review and photos by Jeff Elbel.
Australian rockers the Hoodoo Gurus, and their fans have plenty to celebrate in 2024. Built upon raging guitars, thundering drums, catchy melodies, and campy storytelling, the band’s debut album, Stoneage Romeos, still sounds death-defyingly ageless. The Gurus celebrate the album’s 40th anniversary with their lengthiest overseas tour in decades, playing the entire album alongside other favorites and potent newer material from 2022’s Chariot of the Gods. The tour stopped at Thalia Hall on Wednesday night.
The band blasted through Stoneage Romeos in its original Australian album order, beginning with “(Let’s All) Turn On” and its pre-Marie Kondo list of things that spark joy. True to reputation, the four-piece band was tight and ferocious. Brad Shepherd threw sparks and sheets of wailing feedback while bending sinewy and melodic leads from his guitar strings. Shepherd’s guitar lines quoted “Secret Agent Man” while tearing through the pirate fable “Death Ship.” Singer Dave Faulkner explained that the song cribbed from the legend of the Flying Dutchman. “We borrowed it from Wagner,” he said, one of many quips that revealed details behind Stoneage Romeos’ familiar but peculiar songs. The band ripped through the kiss-off “I Want You Back” and bounded through the heavy swing of “Arthur,” anchored by Rick Grossman’s muscular bass. Faulkner revealed that the song about “the day that Arthur died” had always been a ruse and a cheeky way to explain why the early version of Hoodoo Gurus had no bassist. The guitars-and-drums formation had been deliberate. “I’ve had to explain that for 40 years,” he said. The macabre rockabilly of “Dig it Up” was offered in tribute to the Cramps and the Fleshtones and found Faulkner’s frontman screaming in feral shape despite a recent bout of COVID-19. Shepherd’s guitar echoed the summery pop of “Hang On Sloopy” during the mopey but irresistible love song pastiche “My Girl.”
Faulkner described his visit to the Museum of Science and Industry earlier in the day to see the James Bond exhibit before explaining that the song “Zanzibar” reflected Cold War tensions.
All of these songs were anchored by Nik Rieth’s mighty drumming. Still viewed as “the new guy,” Rieth has spent 10 years powering Hoodoo Gurus and brings an unimpeachable resume of significant Australian music, including stints with influential punk rockers Celibate Rifles and Radio Birdman. If anyone had managed to ignore his imposing presence, it became impossible with the thundering toms-toms and intoxicating rhythm that drove “Leilani” and its tragicomic tale of a lovestruck island boy who loses his girl to the volcano god. Faulkner and Shepherd led the crowd in the song’s imposing call-and-response chant before winding up with a nod to the Ramones and a “Hey! Ho! Let’s go!”
Shepherd delivered a taut glam rock solo while making windmills and jumps during “I Was a Kamikaze Pilot” as Faulkner channeled T. Rex with his reliable rhythm guitar and melodic leads.
After completing Stoneage Romeos, the band dove straight into the barroom brawler and two-ton swagger of “World of Pain” from Chariot of the Gods; Faulkner said that the song set the parameters for the evening. After playing its oldest work and offering a sample of its newest, the band spent 75 minutes touching on all points in between. The band pulled “Another World” and “Shadow Me” from the fourth album Magnum Cum Louder, culled from recent setlists in Brazil, where the album still enjoys massive popularity. The frantic “Don’t Try to Save My Soul” was another head knocker from Chariot of the Gods, introduced by Faulkner as “the story of my life in three minutes.”
The soaring pop of “Out That Door” and adrenalized thunder of “The Right Time” ignited the room with singalongs and actual dancing at the open front of Thalia Hall’s floor.
Shepherd announced a surprise to follow. “This is one from our deep past,” he said. “If you don’t know it, don’t feel too bad.” He then lunged into the foreboding but grooving, “Bring the Hoodoo Down.” Judging by the crowd’s reaction, the room was filled with true-blue fans who knew sophomore album Mars Needs Guitars back to front. Kinky favorite “1000 Miles Away” also earned a strong response.
It was a lucky night for fans of a band who haven’t exactly worn out their welcome in Chicago. The band performed to a packed room at the Abbey Pub in 2007, and then didn’t return until performing at City Winery last March. Twice in 18 months may have given some longtime disciples cause to hope for more regular visits from their Aussie heroes. Faulkner tempered those expectations by quoting the Rolling Stones. “This may be the last time, I don’t know,” he said after bashing out the indelible “Come Anytime” on his battered Telecaster. “But let’s not dwell on that. Let’s enjoy this time we’ve got together right now.”
The band and fans did just that, rising to their feet and swinging to the psychedelic pop of “Miss Freelove ‘69,” the anthemic “Bittersweet,” and the unhinged party piece “Like Wow – Wipeout!” to end the main set.
The Hoodoo Gurus returned for an encore and answered a request for fan favorite “Axegrinder” before serving up the sublime singalong Shakespearean pop of “What’s My Scene” and leaving the stage in splinters with the heavy stomper “Where Nowhere Is.”
The generous 26-song set never flagged as the Hoodoo Gurus performed a masterful showcase of the power and potential in a great four-piece rock and roll combo. Fans left exhilarated. If Wednesday’s show at Thalia Hall had to be the band’s last time in Chicago, the band left on a memorable and celebratory high note.
Category: Featured
