Howdy Powdies!

I saw the Angry Tradesmen (Rob Hirst, Martin Rotsey and the
Backsliders'  Dom Turner) in gumboots and mud (the audience, that is)
at the Woodford Folk Festival this week, 2 hours north of Brisbane.

I caught the middle and end of their set at the 'Blues and Roots' Tent
on Saturday night, at 9pm.  They had on blue denim-ish caps, Rob had
his particularly low - maybe to keep those lights out of his eyes. 
They were a useful prop to avoid the incredulous, mystified, gaze of
the audience when the speakers were blaring a manic street preacher's
shoutings inbetween songs, especially before Rob launched into 'Holy
Man'.  People were up and dancing when I arrived and danced throughout
the set.

They played again on Sunday at a bigger venue 'The Grande' at 3pm, or
a bit later, once they'd tweaked and tuned their instruments.  IT WAS
SO LOUD!  Quite a few people left, I think because of the volume.  The
rest of us were fired up.  I resorted to covering an ear, before going
up the front for a jig.  Rob just belts the snot out of his drum kit,
at speeds that I can't quite see.  Martin seemed to enjoy trading
riffs or doing with Dom other guitar stuff that I don't have names for.

However, it was the feeling I had dancing up the front which was
really memorable.  The robust guitar and drum sound was delightfully
full and raucous - it felt like an old Oils gig, but even more
fast-moving than I recall.  The songs are less lyrically complex than
the Oils - in 'Big Wave' for instance the words are just Rob screaming
'Big Wave' at several opportune, no doubt carefully crafted moments,
and Dom chimes in with 'There's no turning back, there's no turning
back' - and of course there's no future Federal Environment Minister
singing and offering brilliant political statements from the
microphone, yet the essentially joyous wash of sound is there, as is
the cleverness of lyrics, in 'My indecision is final' for instance.

The Angries(?) have a 5 track EP out, with a full album due 'in 2008',
according a sticker on the EP (although on their website they mention
neither the EP nor the coming album - perhaps it can be obtained by
contacting management).  The intensity and format of the EP is closest
to 'Species' rather than any other Oils record.

t