What was a c]alm looking pub crowd for previous band Harmony (who were fantastic) became a rocking and rolling, sweaty mass of people by the time Batpiss were done with them. The mosh grew exponentially, people were on the stairs, on the balcony and would literally have been hanging from the rafters if they could get up there (although some crowd surfers did tear down the above stage fairy lights). The energy in the room was massive.
The crowd were there to really get into it and the band made it easy for them to do so. They played loud, they played with intensity and they played non-stop, crowd interaction be damned, there was music to be played. Almost an achievement in itself considering how many punters almost fell onto the stage from the mosh. Despite the madness in front of them, Batpiss powered on like a runaway train, forming a wall of noise that a three-piece group has no right to even attempt.
New single Weatherboard Man got as good a reaction as anything else and a rare pause afterwards allowed for large applause. Such a reaction for new material is the kind of thing that makes it obvious why Batpiss have been getting more and more attention around Melbourne and sold out more tickets than the Gaso seemingly had to sell.
The gig started with Marty Baker thanking the crowd with a beer from behind the drums and ended with the crowd almost uniformly thanking the band back. Heavy Aussie rock is in good hands.
Words by Nathan Quattrucci
Image by Lewis Nixon
Highlight:Feeling the energy in the room grow and grow to insane levels.
Lowlight: Poor photographers having a tough time taking photos while getting battered in the mosh.
Crowd Favourite: Weatherboard Man.
