The Bad Vibes

Written by Rock Princess

The Bad Vibes began the night with the beat of a drum. Following a short sound check Laurence Valentini on vocals and guitar and Robert Vacca on hand painted drum kit were an unimposing presence until they unleashed a full and well controlled blues rock sound.

With notable influence from other two piece rock/blues outfits like The Black Keys and The White Stripes, The Bad Vibes have the formula sorted right down to their 3 word name.

Something discernibly different was presented in each song and the inclusion of cow bell and harmonica were refreshing in the young and clearly uninterested in flashy threads duo. Of particular note were the songs Bite Your Tounge Sir and Peace Love and Cookies that had the bass drum butterfly buzzing to the enjoyment of the small crowd. - Faster Louder

Review By Luke Ramshaw

The Bad Vibes. Probably the most promising new band in Perth. Onstage presence: masterful and sedate, yet passionate.

Lead singer Laurence Valentini is like a little Frank Black with more hair. Rob is a human metronome, perfectly keeping time and bobbing up and down as he works the drum kit.

You know when you see geeks that have had nothing else to distract them from their chosen paths and have henceforth become unbelievably good at what they do?

This is what happens to geeks like that. They form a band and wow the fuck out of audiences, threatening ever so slightly to upstage everything that will come after them.

They become prodigiously talented, amazingly engaging and entertaining.

These are the guys opening Will Stoker & the Embers' last residency gig at The Hydey and it's a pretty excellent start to the night. - Space Ship New

written by yesterdaytoast

The Bad Vibes broke the tranquility and started a sequence of what would be three ‘The’ bands with a catchy, punchy and patchily crunchy rock/blues set. It is a blessing that nobody lost an eye, such was the abundance of sharp hooks they cast into the growing crowd. These two know how to write a rock song – intro, verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus, end – and they do it with well. They even managed to turn Earth Wind and Fire’s classic funk tune Let’s Groove into something of a rock number, albeit one that sounded like a stunted and munted version of Offspring’s Pretty Fly For a White Guy. With crisp singing, nice full guitar and solid drumming, it will be interesting to hear what the recently announced addition of a keyboardist does to their sound. - Faster Louder

written by Lyndon Blue

Sometimes, quietness speaks loudest of allÖ of course, sometimes loudness speaks quite loudly too, as The Bad Vibes were soon to demonstrate. A dynamic duo to rival Batman and Robin themselves, The Bad Vibes epitomize no-nonsense garage rock ñ a hurtling yin and yang of rhythm and blues, dolloped with distortion and entirely devoted to the almighty riff. An octave pedal helped provide some whopping bottom end ñ to greatest effect on the infectious ëPeace, Love and Cookiesí ñ and a cleverly adapted version of Earth, Wind & Fireís ëLetís Grooveí proved to be the surprise toy in the bottom of the Weeties box. Like most guitar and drum garage combos, The Bad Vibesí sound displays sonic gaps that yearn to be filled - and indeed, this looks set to occur, with bassist/keyboardist Mike Nutt soon to sprinkle his audiopeanuts on the Vibesí stupendous sundae.
- Cool Perth Nights