It was a warm but quiet Thursday night at Transit Bar when I turned up to see the Puta Madre Brothers, with most people enjoying their evening outdoors instead of the sweaty, cavernous room.
Thankfully when Canberra band Voss hit the stage, people migrated inside to see the talented young five-piece perform. The lead singer, Owen, belted out rock’n’roll ballads while brilliant Elyane provided the necessary shade to the four boys’ enthusiasm with electric violin and soothing backing vocals. Their standout songs were ‘Little Fears’ and ‘Icarus’ which had a touching melancholy feel to them. While the audience didn’t get to their feet, all appeared to be enjoying the tunes while waiting for the Puta Madre Brothers.
My knowledge of Spanish swear words learnt during a three month trip through Argentina, and the resulting rude translation of ‘puta madre’ made me assume that I was in for a performance of Latino inspired fun, with tongue-in-cheek humour. I was surprised to find out that the members are as gringo as they come, all growing up in Victoria, but this was just the start of the surprises for the evening.
The three-man band diverts from the usual formation, with each member set up like a one-man band. Each had a kick drum, a guitar and assorted other percussion instruments, including symbols that were hit with the end of their guitars in a careless fashion. Playing in unison, their sound was a mesh of rock’n’roll, motown and mariachi, creating a sound that had people tapping their toes instantly. Initially, I thought ratio of drums to people would make the beat messy, but with obvious practice their sound was clean and rhythmic, a feat in teamwork which many bands could learn from.
Opening with an instrumental song that set the scene for what was to come, imposing a Mexican feel to Transit Bar. The drink of the night amongst the intimate crowd was certainly tequila slammers and Coronas, as drinking anything else just didn’t seem right.
The boys looked like soldiers returning from a long battle, all three were dressed in old Spanish military uniforms, complete with red shoulder tassels. Their beards were un-kept, they had enough hair gel to make their long locks stand to attention and black paint smudged on their faces.
The brothers, who aren’t actually related, sang in Spanish with many ‘whoops’ and ‘yee hahs’ scattered throughout the lyrics. Their songs ‘Queso y Cojones’ (translated literally to ‘cheese and balls’) and ‘Putananny Twist’ had a few people up on the dance floor, breaking out classic moves like the shimmy, toe-tap and twist.
Their hour set kept the audience’s attention, although with a little more crowd interaction from the band I think everyone would’ve ended up jiving the night away, in true Mexican style.
Photos by Chris Whitfield.
