When the punk bands that played the soundtrack to your pubescent days of early experimentation with drugs and alcohol pass the three decade mark, it can be a bit of a bittersweet affair. You start to realise you’re slowly becoming the haggard old dudes standing at the edge of the mosh, eyeing off their younger cohorts and thinking about how much better it was when you were doing the same stupid shit. That bitterness might’ve already set in to founding member Fat Mike Burkett and could explain why he kicked that guy in the face at one of their Sydney shows. They took that little outburst in their stride and Burkett seems cool with hugs now even tolerating a stark naked stage crasher last Thursday night.
No offence to Bodyjar but the last minute support change to Frenzal Rhomb probably sent pure shots of joy through the brains of punters when they heard the announcement. Bodyjar singer Cameron Baines had to cancel the show after his wife went into the labour early Thursday morning leading to a quick phone call to the band widely touted as the Australian NOFX. Lurching around the stage with eyes bugging out of his head, singer Jason Whalley basically looked a bit fucked from the last minute organisations and flights. Punch In The Face and You Can’t Move Into My House started the sweaty masses moving under the stoic eyes of the Roman statues while Never Had So Much Fun led to a monstrous chorus of the opening verse. Late in the set McDougall made a few smart-assed attempts at leading the band into a couple of Bodyjar tunes before finishing on avian anthem Bird Attack.
Noticeably intoxicated is one way you could describe Burkett as he wandered onto stage and started taunting the crowd before bandmates El Hefe, Eric Melvin and Erik Sandin followed him out. Although all four of the staunch punkers are pushing 50, they still move around like a bunch of speed-fed orangutans as they belted songs spanning the band’s 30-year history. Green Corn off 1991’s Ribbed got a showing due to a fan’s Twitter request while the set mainstays of Murder The Government, The Brews and Linoleum all took their rightful place. After taking the piss out of the Rolling Stones for a good while, the band revealed their one stage prop with a ceremonial unveiling of the smallest band banner they could afford. Closing on Separation Of Church Of Skate, Burkett apparently took a quick trip to the ‘powder’ room before returning for their four song encore of Franco Un-American, Bottles To The Ground, Dinosaurs Will Die and Kill All The Whiteman. It doesn’t really matter how old the fans or the band get, or whether you love them or hate them, whenever NOFX plays it’s always going to make you want to kick someone in the face.
BY RHYS MCRAE
Photo by Ian Laidlaw
Loved: Being a part of the roaring Frenzal opening line, “Smoked a pack of cigarettes before midday.”
Hated: Pushy cocksuckers trying to steamroll out at the end.
Drank: Boag-arse.
