Graveyard Train - Hillside Friday/Saturday 2011

The shorts with suspenders and undershirt were a little unique, but what was in his hands was the ultimate eyebrow raiser. Slung over one hand, a couple yards of heavy chain, and in the other - a hammer to bash it with. This beat out the other member with his acoustic guitar slung over his shoulder to be played flat like a slide guitar while standing, or even the guy bashing a metal water bottle of a music stand as the most interesting member of Graveyard Train. Having come all the way from Melbourne they stood seven across the front of the stage, all singing, or sometimes yelling in response to their bandmates' calls, in a delightfully entertaining fashion. Every last one of them lent a voice, often taking turns on songs where the subject matter most always tended toward the supernatural (mummies to scarecrows to personified death to werewolves to witches). The exception being their overly flamboyant cover of Fever which was absolutely hilarious and had Karkwa provided some nice piano flourishes. Thanks for making the trip, I'm so glad to have seen that without having to travel all the way to the 'Old Bar' in Melbourne, Australia.