So this is a new one for me. I’ve not overly tried my hand at live reviews before, and find my comfort zone is more typically record reviews. And it’s a new one for me for another reason. This is a collaborative review with Lukas Schwarzbrennan of Ont Road (formerly Water Into Beer fanzine). Bit like a crap version of a split 7in, minus the administrative effort.
Weirdly tedious fact alert: we both keep spreadsheets of “stuff”. Luke has a spreadsheet of all the gigs he’s attended. I think he was aiming for a 1,000 before he hits 40… I keep one of my record collection. Now that I’ve made us both sound like especially exciting people, let’s have a look.
We made it to the show in time to see the last four songs of the local support band DAVES, whom by all accounts hadn’t played any shows for five years, and by the crowd in attendance that night, nobody seemed that bothered about them. Despite that, they were probably there for a reason, and added an unbeknownst value in some way to the event. Musically competent, but nothing to write home about.
So opening the bill we had a local band known simply as DAVES. Not “Dave’s Band”, just DAVES. Not to be confused with the vastly superior TOO MANY DAVES. Yes, DAVES. They had apparently been inactive since 2018 or something. I’d had a brief flick through the stuff on their bandcamp page the previous day, so I wasn’t expecting much.
Now, I don’t like to unnecessarily piss on anyone’s chips, but as is my duty as a veritable paragon of honesty (you’d expect no less at this stage, right?) and an Adonis (non-physical, obvs) of beautiful, naked truths… they were fairly shit. There’s no reason to be beating about the bush, here I’m afraid. Weak songwriting skills, and a bit slipshod; sadly not in an endearing way. Now you may say “everyone has to start somewhere, Tony!”, and you’d be right; I’d suggest a practice room. For a very long time. Fact is, these guys started somewhere a number of years ago, and stopped. And for some reason have decided to start up again. This, I’m sorry to say, is a terrible idea: grown men playing sub-Battle of the Bands standard garbage with a seeming lack of self-awareness. Having said that, there were a few long-haired young teenagers prancing about, so at least someone had a good time. However, I suspect this could have been their first time out of parental supervision…
Then it was time for the Aussies. Two touring Australian band, both from Melbourne, both on their own tours, yet joining together for the first night of the respective tours.
First up was MANNEQUIN DEATH SQUAD, an interchangeable two piece, consisting of guitar/drums with dual vocals. This was a refreshing change to the norm, and would be pigeonholed into the post punk genre. They certainly covered a range of styles, and it was often unpredictable where the song would go next, and wherever it did go, it worked nicely, and none of the sections were overly done, nor were there any parts where the band were milking any specific section too much. At some points I am hearing pop melody vocals akin to MICHAEL JACKSON or PARAMORE, and at other points the music is full force surf rock similar to AGENT ORANGE.There was a lot more going on than this, and it was overall definitely a thumbs up from me. I was easily able to picture this band playing at an introducing stage at any alternative music festival, and instantly being enjoyed by the crowd.
Next up we were treated to a Melbourne two-piece called MANNEQUIN DEATHSQUAD, filling the main support slot. Neither of them are called Dave (it’s Ellie and Dan). For context, it’s a one female, one male duo sharing vocal duties, drum duties and guitar duties between them. Yep, they flip roles mid-set. Again, I’d had a flick through their bandcamp page the day before, and found something about their stuff that excited me, so I’d been pretty keen to hear more.
I’d like to take a moment to give a shout out to Dan’s stage make-up, which I am assuming is a nod to the photo on the artwork for ‘Goddammit’ by ALKALINE TRIO. Or maybe ERIC OZENE of THE NERVE AGENTS? Anyway, I thought it looked cool.
I was struck by the dynamism this pair brought to the stage. I suppose the risk with a two-piece is that the stage can be prone to looking fairly empty. In this case, MANNEQUIN DEATHSQUAD managed to fill it with an energetic and exciting physical performance. Sound-wise, last night I was thinking these guys sounded somewhere between DISCOUNT, MASKED INTRUDER and 'Goddammit' era ALKALINE TRIO. Definitely one of the most exciting live bands I’ve seen so far this year.
CLOWNS is an interesting name for a band, it has so many connotations. I can imagine ALF STEWART standing at the back of the room, taking one look at the appearance of the band as they enter the stage, and him piping up with ‘Look at the way they're dressed, they look like a right set of Clowns, strewth!’
One of the key reasons I went to see them was from reading a bio that said they were on FAT WRECK CHORDS, and in addition I had some strong recommendations about how good they are, from a few friends. Tony also assured me that I was in for a treat, and I deliberately decided not to listen to them before the show, so that I would get the debut experience in the live setting. They were absolutely fantastic. After years of playing live they have got their shtick down to a tee, and their energy and enthusiasm is infectious, as was witnessed by some of the crowd enjoying themselves in the pit. I enjoyed every minute of it, and was pleased to have taken a chance on going to see them play live.
On to CLOWNS, who I’m a big fan of, in particular since catching them live last summer with Manchester’s BRUISE CONTROL and local melodic hardcore act, WITHOUT LOVE (also at Key Club). It’s fair to say that they have been earning a rep as one of the best live acts on the global punk scene. They have all the hallmarks of a band that plays live regularly and practises a lot. Stupidly tight, ridiculously good.
I think it helps massively that they clearly have a lot of belief in the songs they are playing. Scathing social commentary and introspection play equal parts in the lyrical content. Performance-wise it’s all about thrashing it out, having a good time and emphasising inclusivity. Cases in point here are singer Stevie down in the crowd passing the mic and ensuring those aforementioned young teenagers are included; seeing the glee and excitement on their faces as this was happening made the night worthwhile in it’s own right. Weirdly it’s during the Clowns set that it becomes clear that one of these teenagers is in fact some sweat-drenched 50 year old dude that’s been flailing about for the entire night, and Stevie has his arm around him and he’s telling him he’s “got the energy of a 21 year old”. I dunno, I just think both those things are really cool. Maybe it’s because I’m running to fat and I’m 46 next week. Fuck knows.
Anyways, we’ve got a great set including more recent numbers (from the ‘Nature/Nurture’ LP), like ‘Prick’ and ‘I Shaved My Legs For You’ alongside older numbers such as ‘Euthanise Me’ (from ‘Bad Blood’). We’ve also got some new ‘uns like ‘Formaldehyde’ and ‘Bisexual Awakening’ that have been doing the rounds ahead of their forthcoming and highly anticipated (by me at least) 5th LP ‘Endless’ which is due to drop in October (via their own DIY label, DAMAGED RECORDS in Australia and New Zealand and FAT WRECK CHORDS for the rest of the world).
There seems to be a nice buzz about underground alternative bands from Australia right now, and both MANNEQUIN DEATH SQUAD and CLOWNS both deserve to be in that conversation.
On this note, I'd like to suggest some other bands from Australia that are worth checking out, all of which sound pretty different: STIFF RICHARDS, CIVIC and PARSNIP (I will add in GELD here too). I hear there's a ton of great stuff over there waiting to be discovered, so it's an exciting time right now.
Check out Tony's blog here and indulge in his knowledgeable analysis of punk rock music.
Photo credit to Helen Oxley.
