For many punters at Keystone 1889 last Friday, it was a great reminder of how an energic group of bands can lift the spirits of younger souls or souls young at heart, both of whom have been starved of rockin' live music over the last two years.
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And there was an eclectic mix of music to digest, as experimental jazz band Jerbus, wild noise punks Blue Milk and Bathurst's own mad misfits Ricky's Breath each bringing a different flavour to proceedings.
The evening got off to a relaxed start, with Jerbus, hailing from Katoomba, getting into their groove with virtuosic piano runs, relaxed bass riffs and effective flourishes of saxophone.
There were no vocals involved in Jerbus' set, but jazz is one of the main genres where vocals are optional, as the sheer quality of the instrumentation takes centre stage.
Jerbus' piano player furiously slid along and stabbed the piano keys like a possessed musical visionary, allowing the emotion to come across through music rather than words, and was backed by equally virtuosic bass, drums and saxophone runs.
Then it was Blue Milk's turn to hit the stage, and that's where things started to get rowdy.
Only needing guitar, bass and drums to get their point across, the Canberra-based three piece wailed, thrashed and jumped through a furious set of noise, complete with Oscar's fuzz-laden guitar, Caleb's rumbling bass and Emmett's ferocious drum fills.
Playing a set full of originals that melded Hendrix-esque guitar tones with the slow, marching distortion of The Melvins or latter-day Black Flag, Blue Milk's unconventional approach to punk rock was purposefully inaccessible, but it didn't take away from the stellar musicianship on show.
The trio even ran through two choice covers, The Wipers' D-7 [regularly covered by Nirvana] and Red Hot Chili Peppers' 'Sir Psycho Sexy', which clearly showed the types of influences that fuel Blue Milk's sound.
Then it was the local boys' [and girl] time to shine, and it was certainly clear Ricky's Breath had missed playing in front of a Bathurst crowd, and the crowd had certainly missed them too.
Ripping through a host of new tunes of their new self-titled EP as well as some older favourites, including the elderly tribute 'My Nan Bought Me a Bum Bag', Charlie, Harry, Harley and newcomer Jenna brought the crowd into a fun mosh of excitement, something they had likely not experienced since pre-COVID.
All three acts provided plenty of engaging entertainment, and as a major fan of loud, uncompromising music, it was great to see Keystone give these young musicians a go.
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