Earth Tongue & Friends

Every time I go to Double Whammy, I’m reminded what a great little venue it is. It never feels oversold, the crowd is super chilled, and the vibes are just right.

This time around, a mate and I went to see Earth Tongue unleash their unique take on desert/stoner rock. What I didn’t fully realise was the scale of the opening act. Earth Tongue had been hinting at a special guest… and it turned out to be none other than Troy Kingi and his merry band of shredders, The Cactus Handshake!

The Opening Act

It all went by in a bit of a blur, but needless to say, it was an outstanding set. They played a bunch of tracks from the ear-melting Leatherman & the Mojave Green album—and even threw in an Eagles of Death Metal cover to appease the desert rock gods.

While the whole group brought serious energy, I was especially taken by the bassist, Marika Hodgson, who rocked a Free Palestine tee and was clearly there to kick ass and take names.

Earth Tongue

Turns out the drummer from Earth Tongue is also the guitarist for The Cactus Handshake—suddenly the puzzle pieces fall into place.

Anyway, this duo sounds like they’ve ridden the express elevator up from the depths of hell to let us know it fucken rocks down there.

Their sound reminded me of Black Sabbath and Queens of the Stone Age, with a touch of screamo thrown in for good measure.

Funny story — the next day, I was flicking through my photos from the show and thought, “Huh, Gussie looks a bit like Taylor Swift in this low-lit shot.” When I told my Swiftie daughters I’d been at a Taylor gig the night before, the look of horror and betrayal on their faces was almost too much to handle. After some intense scrutiny, they declared I was full of shit. My mate, who was with me at the gig, suggested Gussie looked like “Angry Taylor Swift who only sings about Satan.” Perfect.

Anyway — the gig was epic, and I can’t wait to see either of those bands again.