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SPIDERBAIT AT THE GOV

8/31/2014

Playing to a sold out show at the Gov, Spiderbait rocked out to their first headline tour in ten years. The crowd (mostly drunk dudes wearing Sabbath tees) absolutely lapped it up. Cries of “you’re fuckin’ awesome” and a declaration of the their hatred of footy through the song “ I hate footy” created an atmosphere representing just how good this band is.

The set list - a mix of classic favourites and new tunes lasted for just under 2 hours. It was massive! Songs like Scenester, Shazam and Run added to the enthusiastic and hard repertoire Spiderbait are famous for. They played everything, from an elongated version of Old Man Sam to crowd favourite Calypso. The night had it all.

The three-piece band from regional New South Wales relished in the opportunity to play a wicked show. Kram on the drums was on song - heavy and succinct as ever. Whitt shredded the guitar (his solos were incredible), at one point playing with his two front teeth! Janet’s voice didn’t miss a note. The band loved it, paying tribute to the dudes older than my dad that were moshing and crowdsurfing in the front. Kram made note of just how nostalgic this gig was, “it’s like the old days, you guys, you, Adelaide!! YOU ROCK!” he cried.

This appraisal fed the crowd as Whitt started to play the bands best-known song, their version of Black Betty (made most famous in the 70's by Ram Jam). Predictably, it was their last song and boy did they nail it! Kram hit the drums so hard as he smashed out a relentless solo. The crowd knew every word, like they did for every song in the set. They shouted, they screamed, they were fucking brilliant. These guys were sick, full of wicked solos and fast paced drums. Full credit to Spiderbait, who in my opinion should be embedded in Australian Rock History forever.

Review by Gerry Bain
Photos by David Coad - See the full gallery here

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THE USED, TAKING BACK SUNDAY & CORPUS AT HQ

8/22/2014

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The line of the fans followed around the block and security was on high alert. It was the 21st of August at HQ, and it was absolute madness and mayhem.

After the fans started to gravitate towards the front of the stage, Sydney’s ‘haste’ two-man-band Corpus started off the night with an intense foundation, with lead singer Keiron Steel’s lungs almost blowing down the building and drummer Jack Hammond’s head of hair flinging everywhere. This act set the scene of absolute hardcore-ness for the next two American rock bands.

Taking Back Sunday’s lead singer Adam Lazzara walked on stage with his classic longhaired heartthrob look that made girls scream. As the first song began, the stage lights that were emitted could have given anyone epilepsy, which ultimately only influenced the audience to scream even louder. The girls were reaching their hands out to Adam, yelling ‘I love you’ at the top of their lungs; the guys were banging their heads, mops of hair flying around the mosh pit.

With the smoke machines creating a music-video-like scene, Adam sung to individuals in the crowd along with lead guitarist John Nolan on back up vocals. There was a serious connectivity between the band and the audience, with the crowd taking over the lyrics and becoming their own muse. When they announced one of their last songs “Better Homes and Gardens”, the crowd went wild. Adam put utter emphasis and passion in the lyrics ‘you’ll never be happy’ and ‘it was all for nothing.’ Taking Back Sunday’s performance wound up the crowd, and when The Used entered on stage, nothing could stop the electrifying atmosphere.

Insanity overtook everything, and lead singer Bert McCracken’s inspiring lyrics completely rushed people through their adrenaline. The band left no survivors: all were hooked and screaming to the absolute max. The mosh pit was jumping in sync, like a tsunami wave about to overflow onto the stage. The song “I Caught Fire” led Bert to stop singing and face the microphone to his fans before him, almost like he was the conductor and us his ‘metal choir’.

Bert’s words ‘Human beings can and will make a difference. Art can and will be used to ensure our own freedom’ caused the fans to yell out in admiration and support. The most touching thing said all night, however, was about Bert surviving two whole years of sobriety and overcoming his addiction to alcoholism, adding ‘You guys have kept me alive for a really long time. Adelaide, put your fucking hands up.’ This shows that not only does music save the fans, but the fans save the creators of that music.

To finish off the night, the crowd called for an encore that set off the introduction of “Smells Like Teen Spirit” by Nirvana, and then went into a mash-up between their own music and Rage Against the Machine. It’s safe to say that The Used, along with Corpus and Taking Back Sunday, seriously educated the lively audience of ‘tonight being an example of organised anarchy.’

Review by Georgia Lake
Photos by Melissa Donato. See full gallery here

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Bodyjar + Guests at The Gov

8/19/2014

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Slam a reunion or anniversary tour all you want, the men and women that filled the Gov on Saturday night couldn’t care less. Dressed to the nines in Descendents and Dead Kennedy’s gear, they just wanted to see some great punk music from Australia’s own Bodyjar. Here in their 20th year of being a band, there was still no shortage of fans. It wasn’t a sold out show by any means but the Gov was far from empty. But whilst waiting for their 90’s heroes, the crowd was treated to some fine tunes from a variety of punk bands.

First on the bill was Melbourne’s Clowns, who played their classic hardcore punk inspired set like it was 1983 and they were Rockin’ Against Reagan. Their sound had some clear roots and similarities in legendary bands like Black Flag and Fugazi, but their performance was more than worthy of these comparisons. Despite being the greenest band on the bill, Clowns were clearly the workhorses of the evening. They played like the band from down the street where you grew up, trying ever so desperately to make it. Their passion was obvious and infectious.

Bringing the energy down was Blueline Medic, bringing a more sedated and mature sound to contrast an explosive Clowns set. Blueline Medic played with conviction and confidence, as you’d expect from a band with 15 years experience. With a sound that could only be described as “pub punk”, Blueline Medic were a perfect pallet cleanser and a chance to catch your breath, grab a beer and relax just a little, letting their Something For Kate-sque sound speak for itself.

Going international now, Bodyjar brought San Francisco natives Samiam for some extra flavour. There really isn’t much to write about Samiam, they played a classic 90’s punk set with a youthful spirit that is rare for a band with over 25 years under their belt. They brought their great songs with them and their wealth of live experience to provide a perfect precursor for Bodyjar.

When Bodyjar hit the stage, no matter how bad your night was up until that point, it instantly improved tenfold. They ripped through their classic album Rimshot! with a ferocious energy that hadn’t faltered over the years. Their signature vocal harmonies were on point through out the evening that shone particularly through their fan favourite and delightful cover of Simon & Garfunkel’s “Hazy Shade of Winter” that perfectly interrupted their start to finish run of Rimshot! They wrapped up their evening with what they liked to call the “request fest”. They mainly stuck to their hits like “One in a Million” and set highlight, closer “Not The Same” that ended with a stage invasion of the preceding bands and a big sing-along of that infectious chorus. It was the perfect summary of what Bodyjar were there to do; they gave the fans what they wanted to hear and loved every minute of it

It was clear to everyone in the room, including the band themselves, that Bodyjar had their moment in the sun a while back, but if soaking up the last remaining sunrays is Bodyjar playing because they love to play, they have fans that want to hear it and it’s that much fun, who can really complain?

Review by Noah Ward
Photos by Chloe Miller. See full gallery here

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Courtney Love at Thebarton Theatre

8/17/2014

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Gone is the tabloid train wreck of yesteryear as the former Hole front woman and first lady of rock brought her grungy growl to the Thebarton Theatre on Friday night. In an hour and a half, Courtney Love exemplified what it means to be an unapologetic rock chick, screaming and crooning her way through a setlist of Hole classics and new solo hits.

The lone support act was four-piece Melbourne outfit called The Mercy Kills who describe themselves as a mix of “two parts dirty rock with two parks sex punk”. They had the difficult challenge of warming up the small crowd that wasn’t at the bar before Courtney’s act, but they didn’t let this impair their delivery of pure rock riffs. One felt as though they had travelled back in time to a 90’s rock concert both aesthetically and musically. Their dramatic farewell included flaming drumsticks and power riffs, worthy of international rock stars.

This is Love’s first Australian tour in 15 years, since appearing at the 1999 Big Day Out at the head of 90’s rock band Hole. There she played for 20,000 screaming fans, so one could forgive her for appearing slightly bemused by the small crowd that Thebbie hosted. Nonetheless, she was utterly committed to the performance. An intense orchestral build-up preceded Love’s arrival onstage, donning a black lace getup, with a lit cigarette in one hand and a slung guitar in the other. She assumed her power stance, hitching one leg up on a gearbox and immediately claimed the stage as her own, kicking the set off with ‘Wedding Day’, her double A side single released earlier this year.

Love was only two songs into her set before launching into an expletive filled rant at a member of the crowd who had the audacity to throw a beer can onstage. She claimed in her 20 years of performing, such an incident had never occurred and that she would “fucking kill” the “bullying shitbag” who was responsible, before commenting on the size of his… ego.

This is clearly a woman who takes no shit.

The set arguably peaked early with smash hit Violet which had the crowd moshing and screaming the lyrics back at her word for word. Clearly feeding off of this energy, she delivered the song with enthusiasm, approaching the small crowd and crooning the lyrics to them.

In between songs she managed to entertain the crowd with stories including that of friend and L-7 front woman Donita Sparks, who literally took out her tampon and threw it at a crowd member after she was hit with mud while performing at a UK festival.

Love returned for an encore after her roadie came out and riled the crowd up, saying she needs to hear us scream her name before returning. She took to the stage, an ethereal figure barefoot and clad in a long, lacy white dress holding a bouquet of red roses, which she proceeded to hand out to lucky members of the crowd. She delivered a haunting rendition of ‘Northern Star’ as part of her stripped down and acoustic encore. She concluded with Doll Parts, written about her insecurities in the early stages of her relationship with Kurt Cobain.

The whole show had an undone kind of feeling to it, with Love even letting the crowd pick the next song to play out of ‘Dying’ and ‘Petals’. After resounding screams, ‘Petal’ was chosen and she informed the crowd that it “might sound like shit” because they hadn’t played it in a while, before delivering it whole heartedly. Instead of this making her appear unprofessional, it gave the show a raw feel, which is remarkably rare amongst the polished performances of current major rock bands. She is truly an enigma in herself and she is showing no signs of slowing down as rock’s badass in residence.

Review by Isabella Carbone
Photos by Melissa Donato. See the full gallery here

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KASABIAN & THE DELTA RIGGS AT THEBARTON THEATRE

8/9/2014

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The lobby at Thebarton Theatre was overflowing with people crammed in like sardines waiting to get inside and secure themselves a great dancing spot for Kasabian. There was a slight hold up as the truck with all the gear was held up by an accident on the Nullarbor, so the crowd got to get quite cozy with each other. I was talking to a few ladies that had lined up outside Thebby since 11am and they informed me that if a front row spot was not theirs, there would be blood… There’s some die hard fans right there!

Finally we are all ushered inside, (the momentum of the three women behind me pushing me all the way to the barrier was appreciated) and had a very small wait before the Melbourne 5 piece psychedelic-rock band The Delta Riggs took the stage.

They had very minimal crowd interaction but didn’t need to as their tunes got us swaying along with their laid-back rock too easily. Lead singer Elliott Hammond was one to watch as he showed off his musical talent throughout their set by jumping on the keyboards, strapping on the guitar even busting out the maracas and leaping from the drum kit. The highlight of their set for me was definitely the catchy 'Supersonic Casualties'.

After a quick beer break for me and lots of “check, 1, 2’s” from the stage, the main floor of Thebby refilled pretty quickly and the crowd erupted as the lads from Kasabian wandered on stage in front of a glow of wonderfully red submarine lighting for their ‘48:13’ Australian tour.

Guitarist, part-time singer and music video director Sergio ‘Serge’ Pizzorno and lead singer Tom Meighan both bounce on stage and immediately break into the first song of the night ‘Bumblebee’.

I’d only ever seen these English Rockers once before on an extremely hot afternoon at the 2012 BDO and became an instant fan of theirs, especially when Tom announced our mutual lack of function in daylight hours by saying “We are fucking vampires, we don’t do well during the day”.

They followed Bumblebee with the crowd pleasing ‘Shoot The Runner’ using the start of Kanye West’s “Black Skinhead”. This wasn’t their only hat-tip to rap as later they used a portion of House Of Pain’s ‘Jump Around’ to lead them into their song ‘Processed Beats’ which ended with Serge rapping the famous lines from Grandmaster Flash’s ‘The Message’. They also did a well-received cover of Fatboy Slim’s ‘Praise You’, where their voices were all but lost in the crowd sing-a-long and the now famous (thanks to a certain car commercial) 'Eez Oh'.

After a great set of 14 songs combining greats from all their albums including the latest release and tour title 48:13, they disappeared from stage to much applause, only to magically reappear a few minutes later for the always anticipated encore. They played ‘Switchblade Smiles’, ‘Vlad the Impaler’ (which is one of my personal favorites – GET LOOSE, GET LOOSE!) and last, but by no means least, ‘Fire’ which was belted out by the well-polished band (as well as most of the crowd) to finish their hour and a half on stage.

There was a lot of mutual love in the room as Kasabian showed a lot of appreciation to the crowd during the show and even more to end it and the mixed all ages crowd, gave it all right back.

So many times over the years you hear people declare “Rock’n’Roll is dead” but it’s very clear that those people haven’t been to a Kasabian concert!!

Review by Bradley Bradford
Photos by Melissa Donato. See the full gallery here

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SPIDERBAIT AT THE GOV

THE USED, TAKING BACK SUNDAY & CORPUS AT HQ

Bodyjar + Guests at The Gov

Courtney Love at Thebarton Theatre

KASABIAN & THE DELTA RIGGS AT THEBARTON THEATRE

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