Well
with tonight being at the Glee Club, a venue known
more for comedy than for bands, the stage times
are allot earlier than at other venues, so by
the time I get in the venue for half eight I’ve
missed the one and only support, Brad Dear and
I’m in the venue mere minutes before the
main band take to the stage, it’s weird
having a headline band start this early but with
the doors of the venue locked everyone is eager
and ready to have some fun.
The
Beards take to the stage to huge applause from
this almost full room, with the band coming out
and saying hi to everyone in the front row, shaking
their hands before picking up their instruments
and rocking straight into their first song I Like
Beards. In case you don’t know The Beards
are from Adelaide in Australia and have been rocking
out to songs about Beards for almost 10 years
and have now had 3 albums with a 4th album in
the works, so they have plenty of practice writing
and singing songs about Beards. They sound great,
with their instruments coming across clearly and
crisply, with the rhythmic guitars, crashing drums,
plodding bass occasional keyboards and saxophone
to mix the song
up and some gruff vocals and harmonies. After
every couple of songs the band take time to shake
each other’s and the audiences’ hands,
which is a fun thing to do, both for the band
and the crowd as they love coming close to their
bearded heroes who also let them touch their beards.
The Beards continue their set with No Beard No
Good, This Beard Stays and Born With A Beard.
You might think that songs about beards might
get boring, but you’d be wrong, every song
is unique and special and changes the tone, whether
it be an upbeat happy song, or a downbeat romantic
song or even a ballad, there is something different
in every song something funny, and that’s
what this band is about fun! They’re playing
the Glee Club for a reason,
and that’s because they’re a comedy
band, “If you don’t have a beard then
stand behind someone with a beard, and if you
have a beard get down the front as it’s
the VIB (very important beard) section”
spouts front man Johan Beardraven which then gets
shouts from the girls in the front row, saying
we have hairy downstairs though, to which they
get the reply “If you have a hairy fanny,
that’s fine, but it’s no beard!”.
After every couple of songs the band take time
to introduce one member whether it be Nathaniel
Beard, Facey McStubblington or John Beardman JR
and say a nice line like “John Beardman
JR has the best beard in the band and he knows
how to hit all the drums too! “ they introduce
each every member as having the best beard in
the band, before explaining later, “it’s
not about
who has the best beard, as everyone with a beard
is better than someone without a beard, it’s
about working together as a bearded community.”
The Beards break the set list up with Got Me A
Beard, and half way through we get a crowd sing
along as Johan Beardraven stops proceedings during
Facey McStubblington’s big guitar solo where
bassist Nathaniel Beard has joined him on his
side of the stage for some visual pleasure “I’ve
got me an idea” to which the band stops
playing, “calm down and get back to your
side” he says to Nathaniel Beard, “We’re
gonna kick this shit up a bit. Were’re gonna
split the room and get a sing along going, as
the more you sing along to songs about beards
the faster you’re beard grows, its science!”.
So he splits
the crowd up into 3 sections and gets the left
to sing “Got Me A Beard” whilst the
middle sings “I got me a beard” and
the right sings “I got a beard” which
sounds great as the band stops playing and the
crowd continues to sing, the band take this time
to have a drink and to read a book about beards,
before the drums come back and the band do a big
finish.
The band take a moment to get a person on stage
with the best beard, the guy they get up is a
little excited and downs his drink and then takes
a drink from someone in the crowd and downs that
before accepting the award for best overall beard.
They also get a woman up later in the set to accept
best overall effort to show that trying to grow
a beard
is just as good as owning a fully grown beard.
They continue their set with Beard Accessory Store,
Why Having A Beard Is Better Than Having A Woman,
Shaved Off His Beard, If Your Dad Doesn’t
Have A Beard Then You’ve Got Two Mums and
There’s Just Nothing Better Than A Beard
which they end with a big jump, but before they
do they pause the music for Johan Beardraven to
get his instrument changed once he has his unbearded
lackey to bring it on stage for him, they all
jump and end the set on a high. They take a breath
break before coming back out and performing 2
ballads There’s A Bearded Man Inside Me
and there biggest song You Should Consider Having
Sex
With A Bearded Man. The crowd goes crazy and the
band then come down to the merch stand to meet
and great everyone and shake their hands and say
thanks for coming.
Tonight was an awesome gig, it was funny, exciting,
amazing and did I mention funny? If this Australian
four piece are playing near you then go and check
them out, you’ll meet allot of bearded men
and woman and you’ll have a great time,
even if you’re not bearded you’ll
appreciate the good time feeling you get from
the show. They’re an amazing band and one
that has allot of time and effort poured in, they’re
not just a quick we’re going to sing about
beards band, they’re well worked and know
how to entertain an audience.
The Beards 5/5
Review By James Daly
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