Reviews by Jo Watson

May 25 2001

One and Malaki at The Great Northern... Backroom...Friday 25 May...

Malaki...
As the fronting band for the headliners One, Malaki delivered a well-polished set of rock tunes. In a time where techno and dance music seem to be taking over the scene this trio of guys take you back to the musical roots of the early 90's. With guitar, bass and drums they belted out six originals with poignant lyrics and showed off their musicianship to the locals. Though only a forty-minute set these guys presented a quality performance worthy of their own headlining show.

One....
After waiting the due amount of time for them to set up One took to the stage as professional, well rehearsed rock gods. An incredibly talented group of young guys they played for a crowd of clearly pleased punters. These are people of musical clout. Old school musicians of the rock era they brought together their own blend and interpretation of new wave rock originals. These guys are backlashing against the musical grain and attempting to put there own stamp on the local music scene.

The lead singer interacted well with the crowd with both intelligence and humor. They seem totally at home on stage. Not at all pretentious or posy they played a well crafted set of rock based tunes that reminded me of other early Aussie rock bands.

Compared to some of the other gigs I've seen recently, One was fantastic. A night in from the cold, a warm group of people and a guitar band that took me back to a time when I was 17... These guys made me want to be young again. A combination of heavier tunes interlaced with political ballads One is band worth watching for. I wouldn't be surprised to hear them soon on the airwaves of Triple J.

They've got the talent and the presence to take them far, and considering these guys were free to see I'd say they are well worth checking out...After all the skies the limit for people with talent.