The Superjesus @ Factory Theatre

THE SUPERJESUS @ Factory Theatre

Supported by Van Cooper & Calling Mayday

Friday, November 6th 2015

It was a quiet Friday night for the Factory at first – maybe 20 or 30 people lounged around the bar area as if killing time at their local. Opening act Calling Mayday stepped into a challenging environment, and it showed in the speed with which their energy drained once they got started. The guitarist was clearly having the most fun, shredding solo after solo, but his fellow band members all seemed locked into routine.

The scene remained unchanged for Van Cooper. Named for their lead, a baby-faced Nikki Sixx wannabe, they smashed into a set of Triple-M-bait rock that couldn’t quite get the crowd on its feet. In fact, the punters were outnumbered by photographers trying to capture James Van Cooper’s knockoff Steve Tyler sneer.

Suddenly, as Van Cooper exited stage left, the building swarmed. Now the 35-year-old median age of the crowd made sense – we were back in 1998, and the vibe was electric. As The Superjesus slammed into ‘Down Again’, everything that came before fell away under the forcefulness of Sarah McLeod and Tim Henwood’s dual guitar assault. Sure, their Annandale revival gig may have had more of the pub-rock-give-no-fucks attitude to it, but the showmanship and camaraderie on display were enough to make you wonder why the band ever parted ways.

Watching McLeod trade solos with Henwood and banter with bassist Stuart Rudd, it was easy to see the years of craft-honing that made them the riff crushers they are today. Even McLeod’s open admissions of “never enjoying” playing new single ‘The Setting Sun’ until tonight, and completely ballsing up the extended riffs on ‘Sandfly’, couldn’t faze the band or the rapt crowd.

The new singles were enjoyable enough, but the band’s 1998 debut Sumo was the real winner of the night, with six tracks making the setlist. Whether or not these musicians are looking forwards or backwards is hard to say, but wherever they’re headed, they’re going to love every second of it, and so are we.


Post originally printed in The BRAG, available at http://www.thebrag.com/music/superjesus-factory-theatre