We really are a long way away down here in Australia. That is, if you consider North America and Western Europe the centre of the world. That mightn’t be the case, but it is where the majority of our favourite international musicians come from.
Despite the vast distance between our continents, there’s never a lack of bands from these locales on tour in Australia. Still, while artists from the other side of the globe keep trekking Down Under, it’d be foolish to think everyone who comes here has a darn good time and leaves with pockets full of cash.
Right now, Toronto punk rockers Pup are in Oz for the very first time, joining labelmates The Smith Street Band (on the US-based SideOneDummy Records) for a run of dates around the country. According to Pup vocalist Stefan Babcock, making the trip across the Pacific was the right move.
“Honestly, from the first few shows, it feels like it’s a little overdue,” he says. “Maybe we could have come here earlier. The crowds have been great and the shows have been really fun.”
Pup’s self-titled debut was released locally last April. In their homeland, it actually came out in October 2013, and from that time on the four-piece has been gigging non-stop all over Canada, USA, the UK and Europe. It’s an exhausting itinerary, but Babcock can’t find much to complain about.
“We did over 200 shows in 2014, which was pretty insane,” he says. “We were on the road for over 250 days. Sometimes it starts to feel like a blur, but at the same time we’re making a lot of pretty interesting and unique memories.
“We’ve all played in bands before but we’ve never played in bands that have toured this heavily. It feels new and exciting for us. New experiences, like our first-ever trip to Australia, keep it really fresh and exciting. And it feels like we’re making progress and having new adventures.”
Pup have been making a racket for over three years now. On their debut LP, producer Dave Schiffman (The Bronx, Anti-Flag) helped to capture 34 minutes of Pup’s fiercely energetic and highly melodic punk rock. However, the album was made when the band was still a fairly young entity, and Babcock believes they’ve since made a leap forward.
“I don’t think it’s as apparent to the average listener, but when we listen back to it, it’s so obvious which songs were written early and which songs came later,” he says. “The earlier stuff on the record, listening back to it, I realise that we hadn’t quite found our footing yet. We always had the idea of this band to be a live thing and not a studio project, so I think playing the songs we wrote for that record live has made us realise what kind of songs are fun for us to play live and what kind of songs that we’re good at playing live. That has informed what the next record will sound like.”
Indeed, even before the record’s release, Pup’s energy-fuelled and audience-engaging live shows were attracting plenty of attention. Although the band’s demanding gig schedule makes it difficult to tell one day from the next, Pup endeavour to rise to the significance of each and every performance.
“So much of what people are able to connect to with our band is just seeing how passionate we are when we play live,” Babcock says. “As soon as you become complacent with your live set, your shows start losing power and getting boring. We’re not bored of what we’re doing. We’re still really excited and every night is fun for us.”
Pup out now through Royal Mountain. Catch them supporting The Smith Street Band at the Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle on Thursday February 12 (tickets here),Metro Theatre on Friday February 13 (tickets here) and The Factory Theatre Saturday February 14 (tickets here).
