Reviewed on Friday October 21
Tonight’s headliners deserve the utmost kudos for still, after all these years, curating lineups that are spirited in their sonic diversity and reflective of their own evergreen eccentricities. Perhaps in no other circumstances would one see the free-form freakiness of a band like Seims juxtaposed so directly with the brash, charming garage-pop of Jeremy Neale – not to mention with such impressive results.
Of course, such adventurousness doesn’t sit well with a few of the bemused earlybirds – particularly in the former’s case, plagued by both a too-early timeslot and a wave of clear and present indifference despite a well-rounded showcase of their wordless musical expeditions and exceptional instrumental skills.
It’s Neale who is miraculously able to turn the tide – albeit by implementing a tune not his own, the pub rock anthem ‘Errol’ by Australian Crawl. It should come as no surprise to those in the know – Neale is, after all, one of the country’s more irrepressible live performers, throwing his lanky frame into every track with considerable gusto and complementing said energy with particularly entertaining between-song banter. If he and his airtight backing band can’t get the job done, it’s doubtful anyone else would be able to.
Regurgitator arrive a bit after 10pm, launch into ‘I Sucked A Lot Of Cock To Get Where I Am’ and incite a mass pogo-bounce mosh. Here’s the kicker: one could write this at the top of a Regurgitator show review at any point over their last two decades and it would still be as pertinent.
That’s not to say the ’Gurge have grown at all predictable in their time – rather, they’re truly impeccable in terms of their reliability. If this band’s name is up on the marquee, you’re in for an evening of big sing-alongs, irony-laden braggadocio and a pinch of nostalgia, care of a run of singles guaranteed to instantly transport you back to either your childhood or your coming of age (depending on how old you are).
A break of a few years between tours has allowed the band to return to the touring circuit as energetic and entertaining a live prospect as ever, sparking considerable room reactions from even the most obscure of tracks (forgotten single ‘Fat Cop’, for instance, or 2013 album cut ‘Made To Break’). A very fun Friday night for the young-at-heart weirdos whose copies of Tu-Plang and Unit never left the stereo.
