:: Those Bloody McKennas - Corner Hotel, Richmond - December 2004

By: Adrian Ringin

The was truly an outstanding gig. The Walker & Davies set was a good prelude to the McKennas. Utilising only a drum kit and a variety of stringed instruments, they provided some nice and varied tunes.

Those Bloody McKennas, however, took things up another notch. They were outstanding, turning in an exceptional performance. Largely drawn from their new EP ‘Time and Tide’, but with some older material mixed in, it all came together very nicely. From the opening instrumental tranquillity of ‘Turquoise Bay’, to ‘Crazy Idea’, an excellent, almost Ben Lee – type number of hoping and dreaming. The energy and enthusiasm exhibited in ‘Grace Emily Jam’ – was truly something to behold, as was the impromptu frenzied dancing the latter number in particular caused one guy down the front of the audience to engage in – he was effectively a one-man moshpit!

There were a number of great songs and nice moments at this gig, but ultimately, the standout song was the title track of their new EP. ‘Time and Tide’ deals with the human toll of the Siev X, the refugee ship which sank en route to Christmas island prior to the 2001 election with over 350 deaths. The line “one day this all will be a memory” is almost reminiscent of “how long, how long must we sing this song?” from U2’s early hit Sunday Bloody Sunday, and the empathy for the victims and outrage of the situation seems to hark back to Redgum and other classic folk groups.

The McKennas put on a very good show. The variety and quality of the music, the occasional joking around, and anecdotes from the band (and the odd one-man moshpit!) made this an enjoyable night.