Album Notes

THE HIPSHOOTERS: LIVE AT THE BOMBSHELTER! If you hang out under the Story Bridge on any Sunday evening you're sure to catch the Texas vibe emanating from the Bombshelter Bar at the Story Bridge Hotel. If you go and investigate further you'd be hard pressed to see the source of excitement. The crowd spills onto the street, and it's hard work just getting through the door, let alone being able to see the band. This is not on New Years Eve, this is not what happens with a public holiday on Monday, this is every week of the year. The Hipshooters have created quite a stir since crossing our shores from their native New Zealand just a year ago. With Anton Tipi Elkington out front and Billy Williams on Bass, the band is completed by local boy, Bob Peele on drums. 'Live At The Bombshelter' does full justice to a 'Shooters' gig. Too often live recordings are scratchy and mistakes aplenty, not so with this offering. The outfit is so tight and polished you could believe it came from the studio. The album features twelve tracks, eight of which are original. The compliment are made up of some popular standards, 'Mary Had A Little Lamb' and 'T-Bone Shuffle' among them. They have suffered none through the Hipshooter's energetic interpretation. Certainly what strikes you most is Tipi's startling guitar work to see him play, you have to wonder how he doesn't snap the slender neck of his Strat. He bends the strings almost to breaking (and sometimes beyond), extracting every ounce of torment and passion and then some. His hard edged vocals similarly convey all the angst and ecstacy endemic in the Blues. Of course a great frontman a band does not make. Billy Williams and Bob Peele keep pace with Tipi the whole frantic way, providing colour and substance of their own. Billy's groovy Bass is as much a part of the Hipshooters experience, and with Bob, provides the basis of all that goes with it. The Hipshooters originals are quality pieces and to my mind are the better tunes on the CD, having been written to the talents of the members, allowing them to shine through. Listen to 'Still Crying' to get what I am talking about. The guitar solo is pure sex. 'Live At The Bombshelter!' runs for around one hour, do buy this CD, I can't recommend it highly enough. HELEN FARLEY. Taken from ; RAVE MAGAZINE . ----------------- "Well they call me Hurricane, and I just blowed into your town" Anton Tipi Elkington sang those words the first time I saw The hipshooters, accompanied by an overwhelming guitar sound that was equal parts surging Texas bar-room blues, Jimi Hendrix wah- wah. Anton and bassist Billy Williams did indeed blow into town from across the Tasman Sea, giving the Brisbane blues scene an enormous jolt. As their gigs began attracting bigger and bigger crowds, their line-up eventually settled down to a trio with local session drummer and teacher Bob Peele, though a veritable who's who of local talent could be seen jamming with the band on any given night. Securing a residency at the historic Story Bridge Hotel's Bombshelter Bar, allowed The Hipshooters to build up a loyal following, to a point where this recording took place amidst one of the biggest crowds ever seen at the venue. Anton formed The Hipshooters 3 years ago having spent the previous 5 years touring extensively with various bands. At first a reluctant singer and frontman, Anton has proven himself to be a charismatic performer and a fine songwriter. At his best on pumping blues rockers which always guarantee a full dance floor, Anton can also get down with an aching slow blues like no-one else I've seen. The combination of a superb, hard driving rhythm section, torn-from-the-heart vocals and staggering guitar playing make The Hipshooters not just another power blues-rock trio, but simply the best of their kind. And if you think this recording is great ( and it is ), well baby, you should have been there! Mark Doherty, ' Nothin But The Blues ' 4ZZZ-FM Brisbane Editor ' Blues On Air ' magazine