Camden’s Black Heart Hosts a Ripper Night with The Lazys and Junkyard Drive

September 4, 2024 rocknews

It was a hot and sweaty evening on Sunday when we gathered at the Black Heart in Camden for what promised to be an evening of high-octane rock and roll. It’s an achingly cool venue that promises “beer, booze and bands in no particular order” and even has a tattoo studio attached to it! It was my first time here, but it will definitely not be the last.

We arrived early, got a drink and had a chat with members of both bands (more of that shortly) as we watched the intimate venue fill up with fans sporting a range of t-shirts from Airborne to Florence Black.

Junkyard Drive

Junkyard Drive got the party started. Hailing from the “land of LEGO and bacon” (important info from drummer Claus), the Danish 5 piece were massively entertaining as they powered through a set of good time rock ’n’ roll. Formed in 2014, they are riding high on the success of their fourth album ‘Look at me Now’, and their set was packed with new songs. They started, though, with ‘Pauline’ from their 2014 debut EP. This classic rock number (an ode to the Les Paul) was a perfect opener before we got some new material. Standout tracks from the new album for us were ‘Shoot From the Hip’ and ‘Tide is High’. Both songs showcased the superb musicianship of this band, and in particular guitarist Oliver Hartmann who dazzled with a solo on ‘Shoot From the Hip’ – with a facial expression to rival Flea 😉

The rest of the band – guitarist Kristoffer Kristensen, drummer Claus and Sius on bass – and fronted by the spectacular vocals of Kris – were locked in and tight and gave their all throughout the 9-song set to the delight of the crowd. What a start to the evening – and to think a flat tyre meant they almost didn’t make it!

View Thumbnails

The Lazys

The crowd were well and truly warmed up and ready to be rocked by Sydney’s most exciting band, the Lazys. With a nod to AC/DC and other classic rock – but with a sound all of their own – these no-nonsense Aussies were here to blow the roof off, and they did it with some style! Singer Leon Harrison told us that he loved the Camden music scene, and it showed in his performance.

After a couple of technical hitches with the microphone (prompting Harrison to curse: “I can’t hear shit!”) we were properly underway.

Drawing heavily from 2018’s ‘Tropical Hazards’ album, the set began strongly with ‘Picture Thieves’, its driving, thumping beat instantly engaging the crowd, who responded brilliantly. The mood was maintained with superb renditions of ‘Howling Woman’ and ‘Half Mast Blues’ .

These guys were having a ball in Camden, evidenced by their grinning through the set, and this was infectious. We, and the rest of the crowd had a fantastic time being brought in to the Lazys’ world. By the time they got to this year’s ‘Ripper of a Night’ (and what a ripper of a tune!!) the place was going wild.

“If you don’t have a drink put it on our tab…we won’t pay it but you’ll get a drink” joked Harrison to a huge cheer.

The main set concluded with ‘Punk Come N Get Me’ from their self-titled 2014 album and ‘Can’t Kill The Truth’ from ‘Tropical Hazards’.

They ended the set with a couple of oldie-but-goodie ‘Love Your Gun’ and finished with ‘Nothing But Trouble’.

What a night of proper hard rock in a superb venue.

The Lazys are currently on tour in Europe. Catch them if you can!