Sydney isn’t exactly what I would describe as a ‘rocking good time on a Sunday night’ but I discovered that wasn’t the case for those of us who had headed along to the Oxford Art Factory to witness the two-piece power house that is known as ’68. They were in town touring off the back of their recent release Two Parts Viper. And opening to make a real showcase of it for the Oxford Art Factory show were Amends and Maverick and to accompany those two acts were also special guests, Grenadiers.

So, Saturday night was awesome yeah. The girls and I hit the town and it was a huge night. I tell you this as for I had real trouble pulling myself off the couch and making it to the gig on time. But I did get there, sadly missing the first two acts, so I asked one punter how were they and he said ‘good’ so let’s take the old mate at his word and say that. Now really being in dire need of some hair of the dog to bring me back to life I head over to the bar, grab a cold one and wait for the Grenadiers. I didn’t have to wait long. Turns out it wasn’t hair of dog I needed to bring me back to life but the rocking sound of this awesome three piece. It is an opening acts job to get us warmed up for the main act and they did their job fantastically. From the rocking Summer to the fast-paced Suburban Life these guys crushed it.

I am on my feet now and good to go as ’68 take to the stage looking like they are in the business of playing kick ass rock music as loudly as possible. Frontman Josh Scogin faces off directly from drummer Michael McClellan, both right up the front of the stage. This setup made for some damn cool rock poses as Scott would stand up on the kit and hold for the chords whilst Michael strummed the strings with his sticks.

 The intimacy of the venue made the sound just fill up the whole room and the ever faithful were not disappointed. As they crowded up the front, ’68 delivered a show that was so musically slick in sound and craft and I could not fault it, it felt like I was being injected with a revitalizing shot of rock. The sound wasn’t all that way though, for when they played a track like Whether Terrified or Unafraid it felt way more like a hard-core show and they would send fans of the first album into a frenzy when they dropped Track 4 R and Track 8 O. But for me the new stuff came through even better live. You must hear Life is Old, New,Borrowed, and Blue. The riffs on it are just incredible and in the space that is the Oxford Art I just felt really glad to be alive and in the building tonight to witness the truly amazing music act that is, ’68.

 

Review – Chad 

Photo Gallery Christian Ross