The Budos Band - Chevron Festival Gardens
By Reece Law
I'll be the first to admit that I attend far less live music than I should. It's fun, it's social and most of all, it's a memory, an experience far superior to sitting on my couch soaking up some tunes. When I was given the chance to see 'The Budos Band' live it didn't take me long to rearrange the plans I already had that night to slot them in.
Budos stride onto the stage surrounded by the slow beat of Brian Profilio's drums and Mike Deller leaning into his keys, a great way to set the mood as it breathes a cool feeling into the crowd. As they burst into action the first thing I notice is the way Daniel Foder plays his bass, its face often toward the ground, he playfully points it at his comrades as he struts around centre stage.
They address the crowd wishing “every Monday could start like this”, going on to compare Australia to their home Staten Island. “It's a bitch to get there, you never go into the middle and you just mill around the outside then leave. Lots of things there can kill you as well”, jokes trumpet player Andrew Greene.
They then break into one of my favourites, 'Black Venom' from The Budos Band III, and the crowd is really starting to get warmed up. Most folk in the central area are starting to move and the vibe is amazing. On the next track they rev it up, reminding me of 'War Pigs' by Black Sabbath, playing slow and dirty for a while, showing off some amazing work by Jared Tankel on the baritone saxophone as well as some really powerful guitar skills from Thomas Brenneck. Brian Profilio also wows us with a well timed and attention-grabbing drum solo.
At this point they've thrown the set-list into the crowd and we all fear they'll be leaving us, but they continue to play, quite clearly far more relaxed and into their groove playing what they like.
They all seem to be enjoying themselves which rubs off on the crowd. Foder messes with Greene, flicking his lead like a jump rope at his bandmate's feet, while Rob Lombardo's (on Bongos and percussion) practice of occasionally handing out beers and drinks to people in his vicinity always garnering cheers and hollers from the crowd.
The band raises their arms and leaves the stage while the crowd responds by cheering and stomping, hungry for more delicious Budos. Greene appears and leads the crowd in a sing along to 'coax the band out' because they have absolutely, by his own admission, “no potential energy”. We sing along “Hey f****n Budos! Get the f*** out here!” and they all trickle back out, Dame Rodriguez playing some pretty mean cowbell to get us all to clap along in time.
The highlight of the night comes when Deller tears his keyboard off of its stand and charges toward the front of the stage, playing it under his arm like a keytar. The crowd goes nuts as he falls to his knees and pulls out all of his instrument's cords.
I first discovered Budos through a friend and my workplace, he played The Budos Band II in the store and I instantly fell in love. “Give me all of their albums. Every single one,” I remember asking.
So dear reader, do yourself a favour and head to your local music store. Buy The Budos Band, The Budos Band II, The Budos Band III and Burnt Offering. You can thank us later.
