You would expect Mike, Dave and Dave to be a trio, but the newly-formed Adelaide local band surprised the crowd at their first Adelaide Fringe 2020 show with a fourth member sharing the stage at The Howling Owl for the opening weekend of Fringe.
But what little thought you may have of renaming the show would be swiftly driven out of your brain as David Lane (kick drum/guitar), Michael O’Flaherty (banjo/guitar), David Drummond (bass), and Keith McGloin (telecaster/guitar) immediately launched into the iconic surf rock number, ‘Misirlou’, straight from the opening scene of Pulp Fiction.
Typical this may seem at first, the setlist featured a good mix of music from Quentin Tarantino’s repertoire of diegetic music, ranging from hearty to moody blues and roots, that will easily reawaken scenes of several popular Tarantino movies.
You needn’t be a Tarantino buff to enjoy the show. The boys are natural entertainers, drawing in the crowd with funny anecdotes and childhood nostalgia that just about anybody could relate to, as well as throwing in a few Tarantino trivia for context.
The band’s love for Pulp Fiction is particularly apparent. Inspired by Bruce Willis’s character, Butch Cassidy from the movie, front man Lane wears a raspberry-stained white tee while belting out ‘California Dreaming’ (featured in Tarantino’s latest Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, though in Spanish). Vincent Vega, Jules, and Brad Pitt’s most recent Tarantino movie character, Cliff Booth, also reappeared on stage with strong, harmonic vocals to short, sharp renditions of the songs.
Adding to the fun, is the constant swapping of guitar, telecaster, banjo, and lead vocals amongst themselves. The band created a laid-back spontaneity true to their pub band origins, but with more gusto – as though you’ve been invited into their garage and there are no grumpy neighbours to worry about. At one point McGloin kicked off his thongs for a twist number.
It’s clear the boys love what they do. What resulted was a general crowd-pleaser, an easily enjoyable 45-minute set that kept the audience laughing and bopping along. It’s the set to get you started on your Saturday nights.
Through more soul-searching, this quartet will deliberate on an official name, and will produce their first original album expected to be released by the end of 2020.
Mike, Dave, Dave (and Keith) will be performing again during Adelaide Fringe at The Wheatsheaf Hotel on 4 and 11 March, and at The Rhino Room on 7 and 14 March.
Rating: ★★★1/2
Reviewed performance: 15 February 2020
