Live Review: Woods, Milk Teddy & Mouth Tooth

Three young gentlemen have taken their seats on the Tote stage to begin the evening. Nothing more than guitar chords, a beautiful voice and some slide sees Mouth Tooth start the proceedings on a bright, if slightly timid, note. Milk Teddy's Tom Mendelovits is in a devious mood tonight, announcing that the band will play all the songs from their debut album in full before quickly giving up on the joke. After some early issues with a still-sitting crowd, the band play some choice cuts from Zingers plus a few older tunes. As one of the few Melbourne bands unafraid to go big with their sound, it may not be long until they play their own sell-out Tote headline show.

Brooklyn four-piece Woods amble unassumingly onto stage. A simple “thanks for coming out tonight” from guitarist Jarvis Taveniere gets the formalities out of the way before they launch into Pushing Onlys, the opener from 2011's Sun And Shade. Jeremy Earl's acoustic guitar and melody-enriched falsetto sit neatly amongst the neo-psych sounds produced by the other members. Fears of a thinly populated bandroom are unfounded as the music draws the punters away from the beer garden. A harmonica intro signals the beginning of last year's single Cali In A Cup and many take the chance to get their heads nodding to match the charming stage movement of Taveniere and bassist Kevin Morby. A taste of Woods' penchant for the live jam comes after the fourth song but once Earl picks up his electric guitar it quickly morphs into Bend Beyond, the set's centrepiece and highpoint. Morby and new drummer Aaron Neveu provide a surprisingly muscular rhythm section, and an extended middle section is wrapped up perfectly as Earl cuts back into the big chorus. As the night continues it becomes clear that their set is very similar to the one they played at Sugar Mountain a week back – although the inclusion of Blood Dries Darker from 2010's At Echo Lake is a very welcome addition. With seven albums to choose from along with other minor releases, Woods don't rely too heavily on last year's Bend Beyond tonight. The crowd is noticeably subdued during older tracks, but comes right back up again when Is It Honest? and Size Meets The Sound appear. As the set nears its end, what should be a triumphant closing instrumental crescendo begins to test people's patience as it extends towards the ten-minute mark. However, due to the packed Tote bandroom once again making a mockery of the encore tradition, the band quickly reconvene on stage for a much more elegant final tune – bringing an end to an enjoyable if somewhat distant set.